Author: Simplistic Reader

I'm in love with the world of books and bookish things. I enjoy nothing more then diving into a new book and experiencing a new world. I'm not the type of person to critic every little piece of a book. Although there are certain authors that have a style of writing that stands out to me like, Leigh Bardugo and Maggie Stiefvater, the writing style is not what I think determines if a book is good. I'm more in love with the tone and way they tell the story of the characters. I would rather say how I feel about a book then write an essay like I would for collage paper. Books are meant to be enjoyed and I would rather write how I normally think when reading them then try to come up with a very elaborate way of making it sound pretty to the eyes and ears. Enjoying a book is a simple thing and so is wanting others to love them too just as much as you do. As long as you write with passion the message will come true.
Adult · Contemporary · New Adult · Romance

Under Locke

Simplistic Reader4 Comments

Under Locke
Mariana Zapata

  • Publisher:  Mariana Zapata
  • Year Released: 2014
  • Date Read: December 5, 2018 – December 6, 2018
  • Genres: Romance, New Adult, Adult, Contemporary
  • Grade: B-/ 3.8 Stars

“Unfortunately, you don’t get to choose family, Sonny had told me this once. But you do get to choose everyone else.”

-Mariana Zapata

After losing her job, Iris had one choice, move in with one of her siblings. Her sibling of choice, her half brother that is part of the same motorcycle club as their shitty dad, which leads her to getting close to the people her mother didn’t want her to know. After running out of the money she had left from her previous job, her brother gets her a job with one of his friends and members of the club who runs a tattoo shop. Iris was happy to have a job again, except she quickly learns that her new boss, Dex, is a jerk. She can either quit and leach off her brother, or she can try to learn to deal with Dex, but she learns quickly that patience is a virtue, and she is starting to lack it.

After reading reading The Wall of Winnipeg and Me I came to this book, and it became clear as I was reading it that this was one of her first books. This is not an insult to her in anyway, it isn’t bad for a book in the beginning of an author’s career. It just lacked some of the things The Wall of Winnipeg and Me had. It wasn’t as smooth. I can’t point out why, but there was definitely a difference in reading Winnipeg and this one. I’m even reading one of her newest ones at the moment and she has clearly grown in her writing since Under Locke. I will say also it became clear Zapata’s books have a similarity to them, again, not an insult. The books were not the same, just that some minor things where, such as the slow burn romance, the relationships with family, the relationship between boss and employer, and the enemy to romance. Also the length of Zapata’s novels deserve an applause. Most romance or contemporary books are around three hundred pages,  Zapata’s are way above that. They are long and give you time to really get to know the characters. Thank you for this Zapata.

Pros

  • Never once was I bored or wanted to put the book down. In most books, there are scenes, that while necessary, are not entertaining to read. Never once did I want to stop reading this book. I actually stayed up till eight in the morning and had to force myself to stop reading and got to bed. Usually by that time I can feel myself getting tired, but I felt wide awake and wanting to finish the book. I needed to finish the book. I save reading till later at night, but during that day I wanted nothing more then to just not do anything all day and finish that book.
  • I liked the biker club and tattoo shop part of it. I’m someone who has always been interested in books or movies about clubs because of the whole bonding and friendship part of it. Also a lot of people assume that biker gangs are full of awful people when that’s not the case anymore. Most bikers actually give to charities and such so it was nice to see that their gang wasn’t full of drug users, drunks, and assholes. Did they fight and talk shit to each other, yes, but they didn’t act like thugs. Also I loved that Iris worked in the tattoo shop and a lot of the book was centered about her time in the shop. I’ve always loved tattoos for the artwork and love hearing and imagining the tattoos the characters have. Like Dex’s Uriel tattoo.
  • Iris and her brother Sonny. Even though they were half siblings who share a dad they don’t care for, and didn’t see each other a lot as kids, they loved and cared for each other. Sonny protected Iris whether it was from other people’s choices or someone’s words. They had a really nice relationship to read.
  • Dex and Iris. I liked their relationship when it turned into the friendship part. There was many funny or sweet moments between them. They for the most part did well together. Dex was an asshole and Iris kept challenging him. It worked.

Cons

  • Dex’s possessive attitude. I know this is a turn on for some people. Having they guy say that every part of the girl is there’s, EVERY part, but for me it was a little over the top. I get it when characters or people in real life say that their girlfriend is there’s, because yeah, unless you are in an open relationship they are there’s. They don’t usually mean it as you can’t leave me or I own you, just that they are with them and theirs unless they say else wise. Dex was a little too possessive, which I guess matched his character, but it was still a turn off to me. Dex says in one part, “…and i’m gonna take everythin’ you want to give to me and everythin you don’t.”… that doesn’t sound sweet to me, that sounds over the top and kinda creepy. I liked Dex a lot. I really liked his character, but when he started to get possessive it started to make me not like him as much.
  • Sometimes it got repetitive with it’s wording. For example every kiss scene was this, ”We kissed and kissed and kissed.” That sentence was worded like that practically every time.
  • Just little things. Like the character not knowing what a fake ID is even though she’s in her twenties. The characters saying pop for soda even though they live in Texas. I don’t understand what “My inner nosey hooker…” means. It was just little things that made me just sit there and stare at the book wandering what they were saying and why.

“You couldn’t control or anticipate a person who didn’t ca
“There it was. That fierce loyalty. He didn’t have a clue how that was the most attractive thing about him. It trumped his face, his ink, his body, everything. Dex Locke was true. He was grounded.” 
― Mariana Zapata,

After reading these two books and reading right now one of her newest books, I can say that Zapata is probably my favorite romance author. I don’t really read adult romance novels. They aren’t my cup of tea. I’m not into how they usually turn into erotica or are cheesy. Zapata doesn’t really do that, or at least I haven’t read any books of hers yet that she has done it. Under Locke did have a lot more sex scenes then Winnipeg’s like one sex scene, but it wasn’t to the point where it was half sex half story. It wasn’t even until closer to the end so I will allow it for not turning into an eroitc novel. I mainly read fantasy novels with contemporary novels as a break, but right now I only want to read Mariana Zapata’s novels. They are well done and I love every second of reading them. It is very rare I find contemporary novels or romance novels that I fall in love with. Under Locke wasn’t as smooth or good as The Wall of Winnipeg and Me but I still loved it. It was great with a good storyline and characters. Her characters seem real and well crafted. Zapata has earned herself a new fan who will be waiting for any new novel she puts out.

Adult · Contemporary · New Adult · Romance · Sports

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me

Simplistic Reader3 Comments

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me

Mariana Zapata

 

  • Publisher: Mariana Zapata
  • Year Released: 2016
  • Date Read: December 4, 2018- December 5, 2018
  • Genre: Adult/New Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Sports
  • Grade: A+/ 5 Stars


“When I was a kid, I learned the hard way how expensive the truth was. Sometimes it cost you people in your life. Sometimes it cost you things in your life. And in this life, most people were too cheap to pay the price for something as valuable as honesty.” 
― Mariana Zapata

Vanessa has been the assistant/ housekeeper to the pro-football player Aiden Graves for two years but enough is enough. She’s done everything for him that he has asked with never a thank you in return, just a nod and the next demand. Vanessa is done and doesn’t want to deal with it anymore. She quits and is ready to work on her own projects, but when Aiden comes to her, asking her to come back with a new job and an offer she would be an idiot to refuse, how can she say no.

I LOVED this book. It is the best adult/new adult contemporary I’ve ever read. The book is long with around 700 pages, but I loved every page of it. It let everything go at it’s own pace and not be rushed. The description of this book doesn’t say it, but this book is like the movie, The Proposal. Vanessa is Aiden’s assistant but she quits. Aiden is Canadian and wants to live in America even after his work visa expires. It’s pretty easy to see where this is going. It’s the plot of the movie, but done in a better way with a different story entirely. It’s not some cheap remake but a remastered version. It’s been a few months since i’ve really craved a book. I just wanted to keep reading it, even if that meant me staying up until nine in the morning. If you like romances this is a must. I’m not a fan of most adult romance stories because they all basically turn into erotica’s and ignore the actual plot, but this one isn’t that at all. It doesn’t need sex to keep people reading. After reading a really bad book about awful characters I was so happy to have struck gold with this book.

Pros

  • This a slow burn romance story. No cliche insta love. Some of the greatest things in life take time to develop and this story is a perfect example. You can literally see the characters slowly starting to get closer to each other. I loved how long it took the characters to make it noticeable they liked each other. Considering that Aiden used to be sort of cold to Vanessa and while Vanessa liked him, thought he was an asshole, it would of been awful to see them start to like each other any faster than they did. This was a true slow romance at it’s finest.
  • The sweet moments. Since this is a slow burn, it isn’t them making out every chapter or anything near that, which makes those little sweet moments worth so much more and warm your heart. Those little moments of comfort or being close build tension for later on and give you a nice feeling. It shows that romances don’t always have to written in a erotic style for them to be good. You can make a story where character touch in the simplest of ways and it still just as good as a sex scene.
  • Vanessa. I loved that Vanessa was not written as this perfect beautiful women, but she also isn’t described as a dump truck. She is your everyday average women. I’ve seen of authors writing characters who describe themselves as ugly. Vanessa never really thinks about her own features, just what color her hair is at the moment, her glasses, and that she isn’t a size four. Most of what we learn about Vanessa is what she’s like as a person. I’ve never seen or read someone as patient as Vanessa. When she is angry about something she actually counts in her head to try and calm herself down and then rationalizes why she shouldn’t smother someone with a pillow or push them in front of a moving car. There’s also the fact that she thinks of doing things like that a lot in a comedic way. Vanessa’s thoughts are far from boring. She was very entertaining to read. She had this sarcastic way of thinking. She also wasn’t some innocent girl. She could hold her own. She came from a bad family who did bad things to her which shape her into who she is now. Her thoughts aren’t this generic sweet character. She is usually flipping people off or thinking about how much she wants to hit them.
  • Aiden is the asshole character but he isn’t that true asshole douchebag character. Aiden is mostly just unfriendly and quiet. When Vanessa would say hi to him he would either ignore her or nod. He wasn’t going out of his way to be an asshole to her, he just wasn’t friendly with her. Even in the beginning when he is like this, the asshole vibe isn’t strong. Even Vanessa doesn’t fully think he is an asshole, just not appreciate of everything she does for him. Aiden was very well written. Even after Vanessa and Aiden start to like each other he doesn’t become a whole new person. He is still Aiden, he just acts a little different and opens up to her more.
  • The way abusive families are written. It seems real. It wasn’t, my mom is a single mother who also is strongly an alcoholic but still is around to be there for us. It is my mom is an alcoholic who leaves and does her own things and the kids are left to fend for themselves. It shows what a bad alcoholic family is like and the different ways it affects the children. Mainly that they either follow suit of their parents and become horrible alcoholics who might also do drugs, or that they swear to be better then the family they were raised in and do everything they can to be so. This part of the story is relatable for many people who grew up in this kind of family. It’s not the pretty picture of people repairing, but the damage and the reality of what that life can lead to. It’s better than any PSA out there, it’s real and something I see many authors try to glamorize or only put in for a backstory but not implement into their characters.

Cons

  • The only real con I have is that it would be easy to tell what was going to happen at many parts. It would be kinda like if you saw someone in a movie turn on the stove and walk away from it. You know what the next scene is going to be. Fire and then firetrucks as the house burns to the ground. The question is, did this take away from the story or make it less enjoyable? No, it did not, at least not for me. It’s a romance, not a mystery/thriller. What’s going to happen next doesn’t have to be a complete secret. It’s ok that I could tell a little of what was going to happen. Foreshadowing isn’t always hidden and that’s ok. The writing was still done well and that’s what matters.
  • I wish it would of expanded on the domestic abuse of one of the character more. You got a glimpse into it, what happened because of it, but no real resolve. I wish there would of been a little more there than just the main character feeling heartbroken for that person. It kinda makes it where that part in the story isn’t needed. You could take it out and the story wouldn’t be much of a difference. It was kinda like a sentence fragment where you have it there and it’s getting there, you just need a final piece to make it whole.


“I’d learned what love was from my little brother, from Diana and her family, and even from my foster parents. It wasn’t this distorted, terrible thing that did what was best for itself. It was sentient, it cared, and it did what was best for the greater good.” 
― Mariana Zapata

This is a book of two people who aren’t friendly, becoming friends, and slowly fall in love with each other. It’s a story of two people who are basically alone in the world finding something to make them happy. It’s sweet and not at all cliche. I don’t tend to reread contemporaries since they something I read when I want to step away from an intense fictional world, but I do one hundred percent plan on reading this again. I plan on buying my own copy to read it whenever I want a book like it again. I’m not the biggest fan of adult romances because they basically turn into sex stories that are the equivalent to watching porn, but I loved this one so much. If you want a long romance story that resembles the proposal but better, then read this. This story is a gift to adult contemporary.


“Which basically showed how amazing the human mind was; how you could care about someone but want to slit his or her throat at the same time.” 
― Mariana Zapata

Adult · Contemporary · Erotica · New Adult · Romance

The Deal (Off-Campus #1)

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The Deal

Elle Kennedy

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Publisher: Independent Publishing.

Date Released: The Kindle version was released February 24th 2018

Date Read: October 31st

Genre: New Adult, Erotica, Contemporary, Romance, College

Grade: 3.8 Stars/ C+

 

“Sometimes people sneak up on you and suddenly you don’t know how you ever lived without them.” 

― Elle Kennedy

Everyone but Hannah practically fails the classes midterm, including Garrett Graham, captain of the Briar University’s hockey team. Scared that he won’t be able to play anymore, he tries to convince Hannah to tutor him after he sees the A on her paper. Hannah wants nothing to do with Garrett, but she can’t resist his offer when he tells her he will help her win her crush over. Tutor sessions turn into a strange friendship and leaves them possibly wanting more.

I didn’t think I was going to pick this series up after reading the first book of it’s new spin off series, The Chase. But as I was looking through my library’s catalog I couldn’t help but wonder if they had the off-campus books. Surprisingly they did, and I couldn’t help myself. Something about these books had me wanting more, which really surprised me considering I thought I thought the Chase was a tinge cringy. Nether less, I couldn’t stop myself from getting The Deal. Now it’s safe to say the writing isn’t any better, which I assumed it wouldn’t be considering the Off-Campus series came first, but it wasn’t cringy, at least not what they were saying. They both talked normal and while the writing did take me a minute to get used to, when I finally got into it, I didn’t want to stop. I loved Garrett and Hannah’s story way more than I did Summer and Fitzy’s. From the first time these characters meet they have chemistry going for them. They work so well together. They were cute and i’m not sure how the rest of the series will top Garrett and Hannah.

 

Pros

  • Hannah is very relatable, and maybe that’s just because I act like Hannah. Hannah likes loyalty, even if she doesn’t outright say it. When a girl goes behind Hannah’s back and helps to screw her over, Hannah tells the girl that she will not be friends with her, at least not any time soon. Hannah is somewhat on the anti-social side, but she refuses to let anyone walk over her, which makes a great match for Garrett. Hannah was willing to challenge him and others when she feels she is right. I liked reading Hannah’s character a lot.
  • Garrett is incredibly charming and I loved every second he was in the story. Garrett has a big ego, basically every girl at school wants him and he knows it, but he’s an not asshole. He doesn’t want to hurt people. He is never really mean to Hannah and just wants her to enjoy herself. He is also very flirty, but in a good way. It didn’t seem like he was trying to hard, it was natural for him. I also liked reading his reactions to Hannah. How quickly he is ok with her just being in his company. Garrett had all the means to be a douchey asshole, but wasn’t. Instead the author took the guy with a big ego, and made him sweet and charming, which worked out amazingly well. I thought Fitzy was the dream boat, but Garrett kinda stole the thunder there. There’s also the fact that Garrett was the incredibly nice to Hannah when Hannah was out of it, I was scared something was going to happen to make me hate him, but it just made me love him more.
  • The book takes serious issues such as rape and abuse and doesn’t make a mess of it. They explore both of them and show that neither of them are your fault, and that can be something you can overcome. I really liked how Hannah’s issue with rape was handled. Hannah is ok with men and doesn’t blame herself, but she does struggle with a different side effect of rape that therapy can’t exactly help her with. And no, it’s not a story of a girl falls in love with a guy and they’re cured of all of their problems. Hannah was already getting help for it all before she even meet Garrett, and had mostly come to terms with all of it and accepted that she was a survivor and she wouldn’t let it cripple her anymore. The abuse isn’t explored as much as Hannah’s past is, but I do like the way it is handled still. The author also doesn’t make it to heavy with the past trauma’s, so the story is more heart warming, instead of heart breaking. It’s a cute fun read that is realistic, not a sad read that takes a lot out of you.

 

Cons

  • This book is nowhere near as cringy with the wording as it’s spin off was, but there was still a few things that made me cringe inside a little. I kept questioning how old the author was when I kept reading about how her characters love Selena Gomez, One Direction, and Justin Bieber, but then I remembered that I know girls who are in college right now and still cry when Justin Bieber is coming to our city, so I guess I can’t full on fault her for it, but it’s still something I personally find cringy, but at least this time I don’t feel like the character needs to be wearing Ugg boots and carrying a pumpkin spice latte. There is still some wording though that makes it hard to read at times. The author likes to abbreviate some words, and as someone who isn’t really into texting, and when I do I don’t tend to use a lot of abbreviations, it gets annoying having to stop and google what they mean. If she had wrote the abbreviations when it was characters texting, there would of been nothing I could complain about since people do text like that, but in the actually writing, having to stop mid paragraph to look up what a abbreviation means does make it harder for me to read. Luckily she doesn’t put to many in this book. I think there was only two I had to google.
  • It once again had info dumping. Within the first page of the first chapter, the author tells you out of nowhere that Hannah was raped. There was no building to it, she just threw it out there that she was raped. It is literally the starting sentence of the third or so paragraph, She was talking about her crush and then just dropped the bomb that she has only loved two people since she was raped. It was literally just a bomb that was thrown on you, and I can tell author the knows how to not info dump, because she doesn’t do it with Garrett. She lets it unfold. Know, I can tell why she info dumped about Hannah’s rape. It plays a big part in Hannah’s story. She doesn’t like to go to parties, drink, or be around people in that situation because of what happened to her, it’s just the way it was thrown out there. It was basically Hannah going, “I have a crush on this football player. He’s really cute. Oh and i’ve been raped.” It is very important from the beginning of the story to know what happened to Hannah, it was just the way it was presented maybe messed it up.

 

The writing is still awkward at times. It does take a few chapters to get used to it, especially if you were reading a very thorough boo before coming to this one, but once Garrett and Hannah start talking to each other, the story flows a lot better. It happened in The Chase. The books just seem to have a little bit of a rocky start, but once they get the flow on it is smooth sailing from there. In both of the books of these I have read so far, I have stopped taking notes half way through the story about any weird writing. It’s possible it was there, I was just so in the story that I wouldn’t have noticed. You get so caught up in the characters and then trying to figure out their feelings, that you ignore how the story is written.

“What is wrong with you? Why aren’t you freaking out right now? Garrett Graham is sitting in your booth. He talked to you.”

“Holy shit, he did? I mean, his lips were moving, but I didn’t realize he was talking.” 

― Elle Kennedy, 

I loved reading how comfortable Garrett and Hannah were together. Before they even started to have feelings for each other you could see how they just enjoyed being in each other’s company. Just chilling out and watching movies together, even laying in the same bed without touching each other or trying to have sex with each other. They were content in just being there. They worked together very well. I enjoyed The Deal a lot. It satisfies my contemporary need, but I still plan on reading the rest. This book is still very sexual. It is classified as an erotica, but it’s also not the most descriptive or erotic book I’ve read and I tend to stay away from erotica’s. I think the most sexual book I’ve read is the Sookie Stackhouse series, and this isn’t as bad as that, at least not to me. They also did have sex a lot, like almost every time they saw each other after they had sex the first time, but it didn’t take over the story, so it wasn’t a con for me. I do plan on reading the rest, and I hope they can beat Garrett and Hannah, but I really loved them so I don’t know.

‘ “Don’t worry, I’m beating him up in my head, baby. That counts, right?”

She laughs. “Sure. I’ll allow it.” ‘

-Elle Kennedy

Also while reading I was scared that Garrett was going to be like Fitzy and Hannah was going to be like Summer. They were not from the very start. Garrett was nothing like Fitzy, and Hannah is nothing like Summer. I was scared that the author was going to have a hard time making her characters different but as soon as I started reading through Garrett’s point of view I knew instantly that was not the case. Garrett was most definitely his own character.

Contemporary · New Adult · Romance · Sports

The Chase (Briar U #1)

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The Chase

Elle Kennedy

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Publisher: Elle Kennedy Inc

Date Released: The Kindle Version was released on August 4th, 2018 and the paperback was released on the 26th.

Date Read: August 29, 2018

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, New Adult

Grade: 3.5 Stars/ C+

“What do you have against colors, Colin? Did red bully you as a child? Did green steal your girlfriend?”

-Elle Kennedy

 

When Summer’s housing plans don’t work out, Summer is stuck finding a place to live. Luckily for Summer, her brother knows a few friends from hockey that are in need of a roommate. Unluckily for Summer, one of them is Colin Fitzgerald, an artist who programs video games and prefers to sit at home watching movies. Summer had a crush on him, but he made it very clear he thinks of her as some shallow girl. Fitzy isn’t her only problem though, along with starting at a new school, she has a biased dean watching over her, a touchy professor, and essays to write.  

 

When I first start reading this book I wanted to stop. I had a bunch of notes already written about how awful the character’s inner and outer dialogue was, but we’ll touch up on that later. Reading it at first was not the easiest. It was cringy, but i decided to give it a chance and continue and I’m honestly glad I did. If you are looking for a serious book with a serious plot, I would look somewhere else. If you want a funny, romance book to read just for fun then I would recommend this one. After I got a few chapters in I started to like it. After reading some of the main character talk more and actually interact with each other, I got past the cringy way the main character talks at times and started to enjoy the book. I wanted an easy fun read and this book accomplished that.

 

Pros

  • The dialogue and the characters could be funny. It wasn’t written like someone trying to replicate friends talking, but seemed like how actual friends talk. They would pick on each other and would all laugh at it. A lot of their dialogue had me laughing even. Brenna, Summer’s friend and the coaches daughter, especially had me laughing. As soon as Brenna popped up in the first few chapters I decided I would keep reading. The characters interacted very well together and had a good bond with each other before the story even started.
  • One of the problems that Summer has to deal with in the book is her ADHD. She can’t stay focused at times, and has problems with writing. Because of this she sees herself as stupid and hates on herself for it. The way the author writes Summer’s struggle with ADHD is done well. I have seen a lot of my friends with it struggle and think the same way. It is nice to watch her start to come to terms with it and accept the fact that she isn’t stupid. She is good at knowing things she loves like the fashion industry, she just isn’t a good writer. The author also kept Summer’s ADHD consistent. Summer would lose her focus a lot in the middle of conversations and go on tangents about something else if something caught her eye. The author didn’t just say that Summer has ADHD and then do nothing with it. Even if the author hadn’t made Summer state she has ADHD, it would of been easy to notice based on how she acted.
  • The characters were done well. I liked Hollis, one of the other roommates that people in the story deemed annoying. He is the chatty goofy friend that I always adore. Hunter didn’t have much going on for him other then he liked Summer and was flirty with her. Brenna has funny and very outgoing. Summer was a party girl, but other then some of the stupid things she says, she isn’t a annoying party girl, and then there’s Fitzy. Fitzy is honestly the man of my dreams. A hot, nerdy, tatted, artist gamer who is also very nice and doesn’t like fighting and wants to stay at home watching Netflix He is a dream. I liked Fitzy, though he did talk about his dick a lot, and I mean a lot, to the point where I feel like his brain is being taken over by his dick.

 

Cons

  • Like I have been mentioned, there is some cringy dialogue. Summer says things like, “Jee-zus”, “get her Prada on”, “that’s so not my scene”, “groucho”, “I propose we make up”, and “I can’t even”. It was like reading a badly written sitcom. I guess the author was going for a millennium vibe, but it was over doing it. It made Summer seem ‘basic’, and I don’t blame Fitzy for seeing her as shallow when she talks like that. She also mentions things like Snapchat and Uber. Might as well put her in Uggs and give her a pumpkin spice latte. It’s ok to like and say some of those things, but it’s literally like the author took the basic white girl meme and give it a character. Fitzy says some cringy things to, it’s not just Summer. Though his is usually about his penis, he does say things like “Drama-llama.” I think the most cringy part was when Summer referred to Fitzy as a Unicorn. Out of all things, a Unicorn. I glad that doesn’t last long. That line alone made me want to stop reading the book.
  • The writing wasn’t the greatest. Summer would say that Fitzy isn’t very talkative, and then have a lengthy conversation with him about things they like. Yes, it would be small talk at times, but that’s still very talkative. There was also a little bit of info dumping and they kept referring to Fitzy’s tattoos for a while as if they were a problem, like tattoos on a college student is unheard of. There was also some awkward sentences that should made the pacing go off track. I would have to stop and try to read the sentence again because my brain didn’t want to comprehend it. What the author had written wouldn’t be bad towards the story’s plot, but it was awkwardly phrased which hurt it’s writing. Also the author would abbreviate certain words like “W” for I think win, and “D” for defense. I’m not into sports so if I hadn’t read The Foxhole Court, and watched some sports anime, it would of probably took me a few minutes to think that D stood for defense. When I think of defense I don’t think of sports. I know it’s written that way to come off as relatable, and people who play sports might talk like to say something faster, I don’t know. To me though, it hurt the story more than it made it relatable.

 

Summer’s cringy way of talking at times did get annoying, but overall I will give her a pass for it. She’s not a bad character. I actually liked her, and I don’t usually like the preppy girl characters. She was very friendly and there was scenes that I commended her for. She would slut shame a girl for talking to Fitzy and immediately retract that and say that, no that girl isn’t a slut, i’m just being jealous. She would also help other girls when they needed it. Summer was nice and she proved that she is not just some shallow preppy girl who loves fashion. She had her faults, and she knew it. Now there is the other note of, this book is very sexual. I don’t know if I would label it erotica because no sex happens till way into the book, but they do reference to it a lot. They also reference Summer’s boobs and legs and Fitzy dick a lot and what they would want to do with said parts. It’s a new adult book and isn’t for younger people, though that’s really up to your parents I guess if you’re under eighteen. Just putting it as a warning that this book is very sexual and sex is mentioned A LOT. It’s that’s not your taste, then isn’t for you. I will say, i’m not someone for erotica, I think it’s too much, but I was fine with this book. I did think it was over done, but I also knew it was before I read it so I can’t fault it for that.

 

If you want a good, easy, mature, romance to read I would recommend this one. It’s not something you would want to read if you’re looking for something that is more serious like a John Green book. There is some serious topics in this book, but it’s not talked about a lot so it’s not something that is too important to the book or gives it a more serious tone. The book does feature drugs and inappropriate touching of other people, though the drugs are only mentioned a few times, it’s nowhere near a major topic of the story.

 

Also this book is a spin off of another serious that deals with Summer’s brother Dean, and some of his friends on the hockey team. I have not read those books, but I would check them out to see if they are written in the same way and have similar cringe dialogue moments. I personally wouldn’t buy the books myself, but if I would check them out from the library if I saw it on the shelf. They are the type of books series that I don’t like, which are when each book follows a new couple set in the same world, and same place. I don’t tend to like those book, but it’s also something I knew before I read this book, so once again, I can’t fault it for that, plus it’s set up to where I don’t need to read the next book in the series. The way this one ended I can just leave it there if I want. I really did enjoy it and might read the first serious when I need a break again from serious heavier books.

“What’s the charity?”

“Oh” Bianca looks sheepish. “We’re raising money to renovate the basement here in the mansion.”

Oh my God. They’re the charity? 

-Elle Kennedy

Contemporary · Romance · Sports

Surviving Adam Meade

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Surviving Adam Meade

Shannon Klare

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Publisher: Swoon Reads

Year Released: 2018

Date Read: October 5, 2018

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Young Adult, Slightly Sporty

Grade: C+/ 3.8

“Adam’s eyes narrowed. ‘Wow. Sure there isn’t a pair of ball on you?’

‘Sure there’s a pair of balls on you?'”

-Shannon Klare

 

After her dad gets a new job coaching a high school football team, Claire Collins is forced to move to a new town her senior year. Claire just wants to hurry up and finish school, and go to college. She doesn’t want to make any new friends or be around her father’s new football team. The chances of all of that happening for her quickly go down hill when Adam Meade, the school’s star football player, treats her as if she’s nothing and continues to do so. Claire just wanted to get through her year, but once Adam makes her a target of his game, she finds it impossible to do so.

Contemporary’s are like my guilty pleasure, except I don’t really feel any guilt for liking them because they aren’t bad. They are the gushy cute romances I like to read when I need to take a break from intense action fantasy series. I’m rating this book a three point eight because i can’t rate it the same as The Foxhole Court, or the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before series, which I rated five stars and four star. To me those set the standards for my five and four stars for contemporary, so to me this was not as good as To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, so this had to fall below a four. Now, my standards of what a contemporary novel should be is probably different from other people. To me contemporary novels are usually my easy reads. I just want a good cute romance that isn’t a Nicholas Sparks dramatic romance. I want it to basically just be cute and adorable, with a reasonably good plot so it’s not too cheesy. That is exactly what surviving Adam Meade was. It was the cute, not too cheesy, enemy to in love story.

 

Pros

  • Claire and Adam’s banter. Claire’s character was very clever and witty. She always had something to snap back at Adam, and Adam was the same way. Claire didn’t just banter playfully with Adam, but with her family also. She was funny to read. A lot of girl characters in contemporary novels are shy or quiet. Claire wasn’t. She spoke what she felt she needed to say and wasn’t afraid to say it. She didn’t shy away from Adam’s remarks or how he treated her, she challenged him on it.
  • Adam was also very funny to read. He tended to be very honest, which made for a lot of great moments. Adam does fall into the cliche of the obnoxious football player character, but he doesn’t stick to that mold. He obnoxious feel starts to turn into just confidence in his actions and not doing so in a jerk like nature. I actually think Adam was a better written character than Claire. Adam seemed more real than Claire. I didn’t really see any faults in his character. The author lets you see that he has people he cares for and that he deeply cares for them and it makes him seem very real, where as Claire doesn’t have that same realness except for a somewhat selfish teen, which you could say is real in its own way. Adam, to me, took the spotlight in this book. He was incredibly charming and I loved him.
  • Another part of the book I really enjoyed was the realness of your last year in high school. That feeling of trying to figure out your next step in life, and realizing that a part of your life you’ve always known is about to end. That you’re closing a chapter of your life, which sometimes means leaving people behind in that chapter. Closing any chapter of life can be hard and this book depicts it very well.

 

Cons

  • Claire can get mad for literally no reason at all. She gets mad at Adam for him being realistic about there being a chance she might not be accepted into the college she wants. He wasn’t saying she was stupid, he was being realistic. Many people get turned down from the college of their dreams and she takes it as if he’s personally attacking her and saying that college is above her. He even apologizes for the chance that it came off that way and she still gets upset. She also sometimes does stupid things and acts like nothing is going happen from it, then gets sad when something does. She literally messes with someone’s property, and then gets sad when they get mad at her for it. I don’t know what she expected. I liked her character, but there was times I couldn’t help but think, “Girl, calm down and quit. Stop it.” I don’t want to say she is a brat, but she is a little. She’s a little selfish about the move, which is a little understandable since she was taken away from her friends her senior year. I can understand her being upset about moving, but there other times where she just gets annoying. She literally hides something from Adam, gets told that she needs to tell him, admit she needs to tell him, but doesn’t…. What? I don’t understand? I like Claire but there are times where she is too much of a teenager.
  • There were parts that weren’t needed, and seemed to be basically filler. The author would put in a scene, just to contradict it with another scene a few paragraphs later. It made the first scene pointless.It didn’t help build character, or do anything for the plot, it was just filler that made no sense. I understand at times filler is needed, but when it contradicts itself or doesn’t affect the story then it’s harms you more than it helps you. There was also a introduction that was weird to me. “I’m Riley… Padar High School cheer captain and Luke Bryan fangirl.” I don’t know if it’s just me, but I have never heard someone introduce themselves like this unless it’s the first day of school and the teacher is making the class do a get to know me type of thing. I have never heard a person just do this themselves. Her saying she was the cheer captain was ok, but the fangirl part was weird to me. I’ve never had anyone introduce themselves to me like that before, or seen anyone introduce themselves to anyone like that. Maybe that’s just me though. I am socially awkward, so maybe?…

 

For what I read contemporary for, this book was good. It was something I didn’t have to focus hard on and it was overall enjoyable. I laughed, smiled at cute moments. Claire seemed bratty at times, but it’s clear it wasn’t because she thought she was better than everyone. It was more as if she didn’t know she was being bratty and based on what you see from her character, she would of probably felt bad if someone had pointed it out. Claire was a typical teenager who makes many mistakes and learns from that. I don’t think it’s too much of a fault in her character and doesn’t make the book awful. Teenagers are always know as hormonal brats so a lot of people write them as that, and some teenagers are like that, I’ve meet them, and avoided them. If Claire was a complete brat I wouldn’t have finished the book(there are a lot of books I stopped reading for that reason) Claire was dramatic, and going through a stressful time for a teenager. I thought the book was cute and if you like cute romances I think this wasn’t bad. It probably had some of the best banter I’ve read in contemporary. It didn’t seem forced. It seemed perfectly natural and fit perfectly.

Adult · Fantasy · Magic · Romance

A Promise of Fire #1 Kingmaker Chronicles

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A Promise of Fire

Amanda Bouchet

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Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Year Released: 2016

Date Read: Reread September 26, 2018

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Adult, Magic, Slight Mythology

Rating: 3.5/ C

“Happiness is a strange, frightening, fragile feeling when you’re not used to it.”
― Amanda Bouchet

While hiding in a traveling Circus, Catalia(Cat) is discovered by a warlord with a lack of magic named Griffin. Griffin isn’t just any warlord, he is the Beta Sinta, the brother to the new ruler of Sintan. Cat isn’t just any magic user either, she is the Kingmaker, just the person Griffin needs to help build his family’s new kingdom. Cat has just spent eight years hiding and wasn’t ready to be found. She plans on fighting Griffin the whole way, but finds it harder the longer she hangs out with him and his friends. Cat is the Kingmaker for a reason, and she might have just found her reason.

This is the second time I’ve read this book this year, this book, not the series. I can’t ever bring myself to get past the first few chapters of the second book, and I couldn’t figure out why, until I tried reading it again. I do have a major issue with a part of the book, and the first part of the second book, but I LOVE the first book. The first time I read it I stayed up all night, got up and did a few things I needed to do that morning, and then laid down, planning on going to sleep, but couldn’t because I couldn’t stop thinking about the book. I was up till nine in the morning reading it because I had to finish it. This book is my favorite type of book, and I always find them hard to find. It’s a book where a girl befriends a group of guys, usually not friendly at first, and they’re traveling or going on an adventure. Another book that follows this is The Healer series by Maria V Snyder. I adore books with good bonds and friendship and watching them build. I really loved the first book, but I didn’t like it towards the end, and I can’t ever get past the first few chapters, and here’s why.

 

Cons

  • Now I like Griffin, and I love his friends. Carver is a little pervy, but I like him. For the most part, Griffin is a likable character. He had me laughing and chuckling, and at moments he had me physically saying “AWWW”  out loud. I had one problem with Griffin, and it’s a problem that grows with the book. Griffin has a tendency to behave like a caveman.(I mean there are times he literally throws Cat on his horse, but that’s because he literally has to) Griffin has two caveman issues. One being he is a major control freak. He tries to control Cat a lot. That’s literally the plot of the book, but it works in that context. He is a warlord. He is doing what he has to in order to better his kingdom. For the plot, it works. It’s like Kratos from the God of War games. He is also a brute with a goal. He is going to do what he has to in order to get that done. It works for a plot.  For romance, it’s terrible, what was worse was the way Cat fought it, but always ended up giving into it when he said he was doing it for her. For those who don’t know, that is a major way people manipulate people in relationships.They will turn the situation around to make it feel like it’s the other person’s fault so they can continue doing what they are doing, or they will say they did it because they love them, or something along those lines. Now I don’t Griffin is manipulating Cat, he is just like that. He actually thinks he’s helping her. Griffin isn’t overbearingly controlling for most of the book, it’s the end and the entire beginning of the second book that it gets to be too much. The second reason I call him a caveman is that, in the second book(and this is why I haven’t continued it), in the first chapter Griffin gets mad at Cat, and pushes her hard against the wall, pinning her there, hurting her, yelling at her until she is crying and telling him to let her go. Now when she tells him that he’s hurting her, he does loosen his grip, and eventually let go, and then leaves the room so he doesn’t hurt her, but I still don’t think that was ok and maybe I could of continued reading it, except that Cat forgives him and acts like it never happened right away, and acts like it was her fault. She acts like him pinning her against the wall was her fault. To me, that’s not ok. I will never read a book where the a man or women puts their hands on their loved one, and their loved one accepts it as their fault(Unless it’s a psychological book where that’s the point of the book). I don’t think that was the author’s intentions, or at least I hope it wasn’t, but it is saw reading it, and it clouded over all of the book, ruining what I liked about the book, which was mostly everything else.
  • This is an adult book, and in a lot of adult books, there’s sex. Sex is not the con in this book, that would be an unfair con. It’s an adult book, adults have sex. I don’t have an issue with sex being in a book, it’s apart of life, it happens in real life, why wouldn’t it happen in books. There comes a point though, when it becomes to much sex. That would be this book. Now in the beginning, there was a lot of sex jokes, and little “haha” moments towards it, but in the end it like they were rabbits in heat and were going at it non-stop, and into the second book it was like every other event was sex.(keep in mind, I’ve only read a few chapters of the second book.)  If this book was an Erotica( I wouldn’t have read it), then this wouldn’t be an issue, but this isn’t labeled as an Erotica, or at least it wasn’t a label I saw. There is so much sex talk and actual sex in this book that you start to forget the actual plot. There’s a part where Cat is literally stabbed and she still wants to have sex with Griffin. She was just stabbed! Yes, she was healed a bit, but she couldn’t even laugh because it hurt, she couldn’t even sit up. It wasn’t needed. Also, I don’t care about the Bechdel test when it comes to what i’m reading, but this seems like the type of book that test was made for. Cat’s conversations always lead back to Griffin, and a lot of it was about if they had sex or not already. The only time she wasn’t talking about Griffin, was when she was talking to Griffin. I love romance in books, so that’s not as big as an issue, but if I noticed it was a lot, I know a lot of people who don’t care for that, will get tired of it.

 

Pro

  • Despite Griffin being a caveman, he had a lot of really sweet moments. I went back to look at my notes and a lot of them where just, “Awwww”. When he wasn’t being a caveman, he was perfect. He was gentle most of the time, wanted her out of harm’s way, would call her beautiful or pretty, kept her safe when she accidentally stole someone’s magic and got messed up off of it, and he always tried to let her know that she was part of his group, and he was there to help her. Watching Cat go from hating Griffin to loving him was my favorite part of the book. The are always bickering but it’s cute bickering. For most of the book, they’re a cute couple to read and you can tell they really care for each other, especially Griffin. His love and protectiveness of Cat is very clear and endearing.
  • The plot was really good. Cat being called the Kingmaker was a little on the point, but it matches so who really cares. Cat’s secret past is also really good. If you like Aelin’s life from Throne of Glass you’d like reading Cat’s past.They both have that darkness and tortured soul vibes.Then there’s also Cat’s magic. The way she can throw weapons back at you and turn invisible, breathing fire, absorbing magic, knowing if a person is lying or telling the truth. It becomes apparent very fast why Cat is the Kingmaker.  Then there is the second half with Cat trying to teach Griffin’s family how to be proper royals, but they’re so sweet it’s hard. Its story is done well. It caught my attention and held it. I could of done with less sex and more plot towards the end, but them fighting small armies, a dragon, escaping near death and so on, was done very well. I’m not a very big action reader, but I enjoyed reading the dragon fighting part. It was very engaging, plus it’s a dragon. Everyone loves dragons.
  • The Greek Gods. I love Greek mythology. I have loved it since I was a kid, and reading Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan has only made me love it so much more. Any story with Greek Gods has me drawn to it. They also picked two of my favorite gods to be the main talked about gods, Hades and Poseidon. (I love the scene with Cat in the water after the dragon fight.) I do wish they would of talked more about Greek gods somewhat, they might later in the series, I don’t know.Maybe some lore or at least something for the people who don’t know much about Greek mythology. In a lot of different Mythologies the gods don’t have the same relationships they do with people as the Greek gods do. The book does a good job of showing what Greek God’s relationships with human usually are, which are they either have a romantic one(or just a lustful one), or they use as them as their own champions. For Greek Mythology this was a common theme and I liked that she put it in the book. As I said, I do wish Greek Mythology was more present since this is like the author just did a light coat of it, but the fact that she used them the way she did was good enough.

 

Besides Griffin acting like a caveman at times, and the overbearing sex scenes, I loved the first book. It’s a good action romance. As i’m writing the review though, it had become apparent that this book seems like it’s for a certain type of person. I remember hanging with my grandma while she was watching a western. The guy was a brute, like Griffin. He picked up the girl, put her on his horse, and basically claimed her. My grandmother thought that was hot, and clearly so would a lot of other women since most westerns and older TV shows have that in it. This book, if not intentionally, is for those people. There’s nothing wrong with that of course, I’m just not into it, and I know a lot of people who also aren’t into it. I love me a good powerful male character. A lot of my favorite characters are the powerful male character. Earlier I mentioned God of War, I love Kratos and he is the definition of a ruthless brute, but he isn’t in a romance setting, and we don’t really see him in one. He is a brute at war, where he should be. Griffin is a brute at all times, and that’s not something that I was enjoying reading, but I do know a lot of people who would. It’s like the bad boy type in books, In a book I love them, In reality I wouldn’t.  I know a lot of women who would will love this. If you liked Christian Gray from Fifty Shades, then you would probably like this. I wasn’t a fan of Christian Gray either(I only watched the movies, i’m not into full on Erotica’s.). Clearly this type is something a lot of women do like in a fiction setting. We use books to explore things we wouldn’t ever do or get the chance to do, and if this something you like then I would say read this book. I really do like Griffin(Better than I did Christian Gray), I just personally hate people trying to control me, so reading it wasn’t the most pleasant for me. It’s not a relationship I would want, so it’s not one I would enjoy reading. I do think Amanda Bouchet knows how to write character’s bonding, and magic and that was enough for me to want to try it again. I know she has a new series coming out, and I do plan on reading it. I didn’t like control side of Griffin but I thought Amanda Bouchet writing was good enough that i’m willing to try another series from her.

Fantasy · Retelling · Romance

Flame in the Mist

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Flame in the Mist

Renee Ahdieh
23308087

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Year Released: 2017

Date Read: September 24, 2018

Genre: Fantasy, Retelling, Romance

Grade: 3 Stars/ C

“Hattori Mariko was not just any girl. She was more.”

-Renee Ahdieh

Flame in the mist is a Japanese retelling of Mulan. Mariko’s father is giving Mariko to the emperor’s son to marry because as a girl, it is the only way Mariko can help him, in his eyes. On her way to meet her future husband, her group is attacked by a group known as the Black Clan, killing everyone but her. Mariko escapes and knows that if there is a time to prove to her family that she is worth more than marriage, now is the time. Mariko dresses as a boy and makes her way into the Black Clan’s to find out why, and possibly get revenge, but she finds out it’s not easy to see people as villains when you start to get to know them.

I absolutely love Mulan. I think Mulan is one of the best movies Disney has ever produced, and I know that Disney did not come up with the story of Mulan, but it’s the famous retelling everyone knows and it’s the one I know. I know it’s wrong to compare this book to the movie, but I want to compare it in this way, because I feel it’s something that a book should have. One of the best thing about Mulan, was the characters. They main group of characters had major characteristics and were not bland. Shang, was someone who the viewers were able to see through right away from him talking to other characters. He was warned that he was being watched and if he failed it would reflect not on him, but his family. Because of this, he forced himself to come off as hard, *cue I’ll make a man out of you*. But from the beginning we already know that’s not his character. That he isn’t a hardass, he is just being pushed to not fail. He is a side character, but he is not just his title, he had almost just as much character develop as Mulan. Mulan is big for the female empowering, because it’s characters brought it to life. There was so much to them that they made an impact. This is something every book should do, and that’s why I will compare that aspect to the movie. The movie did the characters beautifully, and the beginning of the this book did too, which gave it so much potential, but the ending ruined it. Throughout the whole part where Mariko was a boy, I was in love with this book. It was the movie Mulan, but it wasn’t. It was darker, the characters were their own, the story was its own version of Mulan. It was Mulan, but in it’s own way, she made the story hers. Mariko’s character was incomparable to Mulan, because she was so different, but she was just as great, but well get into her later. The build of the characters were great. That was the best of Mulan, watching the characters create bonds with each other, and the bonds getting so deep that no one truly cared that she was a women, and it’s sad that’s where this book messed up. I was so in love with this book up until the part where Mariko is found out. The second that happened, it ruined the whole book for me. The characters from that moment of stopped growing, they were all rushed, I know nothing about Ranmaru besides that he is the leader, his love interest, and something else I can’t say, but I will say that this part doesn’t even really matter because it was mentioned and not expanded on. I will get into all of it more in the cons, especially the romance, but even though I hated the last, i did like the beginning so I will talk about those moments in the pros.

 

Pros

  • Mariko. As I said above, Mariko is a beautiful remodel of Mulan. Mariko has the same principal of Mulan, where she wants to be seen as more than just a women, but the thoughts and approach are very different, and that’s the beauty of Mariko. There is a part where Mariko basically says that she hates being a women, but within that, it’s actually deeper. Mariko hated being a women, because of what she’s been told women can and can’t do. Her brother is this amazing samurai, but she is valued as nothing more than a bride to sell. Everyone refuses to see her as anything more, so she hates being a women because those thoughts have tainted her into thinking she will never amount to anything more than a bride. It’s not that she hates being a women, it’s that she hates the views of what a women is. Mairko is not a physical fighter, she is not a warrior like Mulan, but she is a fighter. She doesn’t see it, but in all of her actions she is fighting the mold. One line in this book hit me harder then it probably did most, but I could tell the author put it in because of how strong the line was. When Mariko cuts off her hair the author writes, “Later she would marvel at how she did not hesitate. Not ever for an instant” I read this line and stopped reading. I just stared at it because of how perfect this line was. I completely understood it. To a lot of people, cutting your hair is nothing. They do it and it doesn’t matter, but for other people, the thought of cutting your hair is like someone stealing part of you. As someone who has always been praised on their long hair, and how it’s so feminine, I deeply connected with what Mariko meant by this. To everyone else Mariko’s own worth is being a beautiful women, and one of the traits of being a ‘beautiful women’ is long hair(not that I agree, I think there are many women with short hair that are gorgeous.) The long hair becomes part of who you are, and I’m aware this seems shallow, that’s the point. It’s just hair, nothing more, yet it’s something that has so much thought put into it. It can define a person. I personally could not cut my hair unless it’s dire, and that’s what happened with Mariko. Her thoughts were so overcome with survival and proving something that she didn’t think about it, she just cut it off. That’s something she would never done. This part was Mariko saying goodbye to the girl who was nothing more than a bride, and hello to the Mariko who is so much more. It’s the little things like this that made Mariko so good. It’s terrible to say cutting your hair is brave, because it isn’t, it’s the symbol of it the was brave. Mariko is doing something that will change her whole life, and she didn’t think twice about it. The hair is basically a symbol, the same as it was when Mulan stared at her reflection as she wiped off her makeup and cut off her hair. It’s a symbol of willing to change and do something more.
  • One of the best parts of Mulan was how the men influenced Mulan, and also how she influenced them. It’s happens in this book to. Mariko is very logical, which most people don’t think is strength. (Like Ren when he says, “Knowledge feeds no one. Nor does it win any wars.” It most definitely does. Wars are won through war tactician, and traps have been used to catch animals for a long time. Knowledge feeds people, and wins wars all the time. I do not understand…) Okami, and a few others, teach her that logic can be strength, you just need to learn how to use it as so. They teach Mariko that she doesn’t have to physically fight to be strong. Now Mariko’s influence on them isn’t as strong. She just helps them make weapons. She doesn’t really change their minds about women like the movie of Mulan because Okami states that it never mattered to him in the first place, but I like it still. It just shows Mariko that there was men who were capable of seeing women as something more in the first place.
  • The Japanese culture. I’m not Japanese so I can’t say she did perfect, I wouldn’t know, but from what I know about Japan, she did good. I’ve always loved learning about other cultures. I think it’s something everyone should do. It’s just as important to learn about other people’s cultures as it is to learn about your own. The author used Japanese words, she stuck to Japanese traditions, she knew what seppuku was and when it’s done. It’s clear she studied before writing, which means a lot. She knew that the family name came before their first name, she knew the correct titles to put on the ends of names, she used Yokai and used them correctly. She could of not put the titles like sama and chan, after the names, but because she did it made it seem so much more accurate. Like I said, I can’t speak for a Japanese person and say this is matches perfectly to Japaneses culture. What I know is for anime,( I know that sounds sad and anime is not an accurate depiction of Japan, I learned little things, like the titles that go with people names, and how their schools works, watching anime does not mean you know Japan), and some of the things I either looked up on my own to learn more, or watched videos of people who live in Japan talking about it. I’m not an expert on Japan, so I can’t say that it’s accurate, but from what I know, It’s does a good job.

 

Cons

 

  • The romance. I love romance. I don’t read a lot of books that don’t have some form of romance. I like reading about the bonds people form as they get to know each other, and that’s very important in romance. This book was setting up for an ok romance, but it definitely one of the worse I’ve read, and I hate that because I know this author can write really good romance, I’ve read it, but I hated this one, for one main reason. It was so rushed. The attraction between the characters were so slow building, which is good, but then out of nowhere they were kissing and in love with each other, it made no sense. It really didn’t. I even read a review that talked about how the romance made no sense before I read it. I thought they were exaggerating, but they weren’t. I liked Okami and their relationship could of been good, if it didn’t just randomly happen. One second Okami is suspicious and doesn’t trust Mariko, the next they are kissing, WHAT?!? How does this make any sense. There was no transition. I would rather there had been no romance.
  • The whole second half of the book was rushed. All the characters but Mariko lost any importance and didn’t develop. The beginning was so good, but the ending was so bad to me. I hate saying that. I don’t like saying that it felt like the author didn’t put a lot of work into it, but that part felt like that. Maybe it’s just what she wanted, and if it is, that’s great, it’s your book, you write the story you want to hear, don’t write it for anyone else but you, I just thought it was rushed. All the characters were all in the process of developing and after Mariko is found out, the development goes in the trash. Ranmaru became literally nothing. Maybe she had a page or word limit so she couldn’t expand on them more, I don’t know. I feel like if the book was longer she would of been able to make the characters better, which would of made the story better, and I might have even really liked it.
  • I didn’t like reading the multiple perspectives. A lot of time multiple perspectives can be iffy. I write a lot using it so I understand the appeal of it, and I understood why she used it. It was important to see what Kenshin and the Emperor’s side was doing, but they were just boring compared to Mariko’s side. I didn’t enjoy reading them. I found myself just skimming their chapters towards the end because my mind couldn’t focus on them

“The only power any man has over you is the power you give him.” 
― Renee Ahdieh

I wanted to read this book as soon as I found out it was a Mulan retelling. It made it better when I saw it was done by Renee Ahdieh. I loved The Wrath & The Dawn series, which I believe is a Beauty and the Beast retelling, which is another one of my favorites fairy tales. She had done it so well, I loved her characters, the romance, all of it. I was excited to see her bring another fairy tale to life like she did that one, but I didn’t like this one at all compared to The Wrath & The Dawn. If you want to see Renee Ahdieh’s potential then read those. I’ve read many Beauty and the Beast retellings, but I think her’s is the best. This is the only Mulan retelling i’ve read and I didn’t like it. I don’t think it does Mulan justice. I know I keep saying it, but I really loved the first half. The first half was so good, it held so much potential. Part of me wishes I never read the second half so I would of loved this book. I can’t say I recommend this book to anyone. If you want to read any of Renee Ahdieh’s work I do recommend The Wrath & The Dawn. This book also doesn’t change my opinion on her. Not all of an author’s works are great and hits. If she puts out another series, I will still most likely give it a try. This one was just a miss for me and I don’t see myself reading the second one, which I hate. I wish I could read it, but it wouldn’t entertain me so I don’t see myself reading it.

 

“Be as swift as the wind. As silent as the forest. As fierce as fire. As unshakable as the mountains.”

-Renee Ahdieh

VS.

“Tranquil as a forest… We must be as swift as a coursing river. (Be a man) with all of the force of a great typhoon. (Be a man) With all of the strength of a raging fire. 

-Mulan, I’ll Make A Man Out Of You

I had to. I love the song. It matched so perfectly that I hoped she did it because of the song. Plus Shang is the best Disney love interest, no one tops him.

 

Contemporary · LGBT · Romance · Sports · Uncategorized

The King’s Men (All for the Game #3)

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The King’s Men

Nora Sakavic

23594461

Publisher: Self Published by Nora Sakavic

Release Year: 2014

Date Read: September 17, 2018

Genre: Sports, LGBT, Contemporary, Young Adult,

Grade: A+/ 5 Stars

***This book contains torture, murder, talk of sexual abuse, gangs, and physical abuse. If you are sensitive to any of these then either read with cautious or do not read at all*** 

“Fight because you don’t know how to die quietly. Win because you don’t know how to lose. This king’s ruled long enough—it’s time to tear his castle down.”

― Nora Sakavic,

 

Neil’s time to stay with Foxes is almost up. Soon he will have to abandon the place he has made within the team. He thought it would be easy, but he broke all the rules his mother taught him by befriending and trusting the other Foxes, and broke even bigger one when he found himself attracted to one. Neil still thinks he can just run away, but as the time gets closer he starts to see how hard it is. He still has to win against the Raven’s, hurt Riko in the process, and find a way to escape the same monster he has been running from for eight years. The truth of Neil’s life is bound to come out, but when, and how will the people he found himself caring about take it.

 

The first book was good, the second book seemed impossible to top, the third did just that. It’s been a while since I loved a series so much. Every part of this book was amazing. It made me cry again, both from sadness and relief. Watching Neil deal with it all to the point of breaking made me feel broken with him. The book had me pulled inside it so deep that I refused to do anything else that would tear me way until I finished it. The day after reading it all I had done was look up pictures about the series, and go reread my favorite scenes over and over again. I have become obsessed with all of it. It is now in my top five, though i’m not sure where it’s placed exactly yet. I just know that it’s there. It kicked a book out. This book was amazing on it’s own but, it’s characters is what made this book shine. I’ve been comparing it to Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Boys books but, I think this one is better, in my opinion. I just liked it more and literally can’t stop thinking about it. All I want right now is to get the physical copies and go back and reread and analyze the whole book based on what I know. That’s basically what I’ve been doing with the last book on and off all day. I can not get over the characters. WHY IS THIS SELF PUBLISHED!?!?!

 

“He’d come to the Foxhole Court every inch a lie, but his friends made him into someone real.”

― Nora Sakavic,

Pros

  • Her characters. I know nothing about this author. I googled her and saw literally two sentences about her, but based on her writing, it is like she goes out and people watches all day. She knows how to write a person, not just a character. She didn’t make her characters all the stereotypical characters and let them ride on that. She took them, changed them, and made them into real people. Kevin is probably the best character to use to explain what I mean. Kevin is what would be the typical star player. He is famous, has the perfect nice smile that people love, plays at one of the best schools, and seems like he has his whole life together, but of course he doesn’t because that’s the normal stereotype. Nora took the normal sports star stereotype and remodeled it. Sure, on the outside Kevin is perfect. He is strong and looks like he is always happy, but that’s not Kevin. Kevin is really someone who has spent his whole life owned, and compared to someone else to the point that he started to just become a number. He was player, a robot, and that was it. He has been beaten down his whole life, by a family that isn’t even his, so much that he cowers just when he hears their name. The thought of facing them makes him shake and go into a full on panic mode that he can only stop by knocking back a few drinks. Exy has become his whole entire life and nothing else can’t fit in there.  Kevin is not the happy, strong person at all. He is someone who is scared of losing because of what has been ingrained in his head. Nora Sakavic took the star player who was seemed indestructible and put a reason why he seemed indestructible. Even though Kevin’s life before the foxes seems like something out of a drama, Kevin himself doesn’t. Kevin seems real. It’s like the book has tricked me into thinking I’ve always known who Kevin is. That’s how all her characters are written. Andrew would be the stereotypical ‘bad boy’ but nothing about him is stereotypical besides that he has a bad past. I’ve seen many authors create well written characters who stuck with you, but Nora Sakavic created people. I’ve never seen characters who have seemed so real before. There is a big part of me that feels like I have to go to the Exy game tomorrow or Coach Wymack is going to sign me up for a marathon.
  • Andrew and Neil. Every review I’ve written for this series so far has has Andrew as a reason to read it. Of course this one is going to have him. I love everything about his character. I love that his character doesn’t really change except in subtle ways. Andrew is still the same person who likes to treat life like a game, like during the games when he uses his perfect aim to nail people in the head with the ball, he is still aggressive and doesn’t like to deal with people. It’s the little changes in him from the first book that show a lot. The way he is willing to tell Neil little parts about his life if Neil is willing to answer honestly about his. The way he protects Neil from serious harm. The way he is willing to work with the other members a little more. He is getting closer to people, letting Aaron and Neil in. There is just so much about him that shows growth and that he is willing to grow with the help of others. Neil and Andrew are perfect together. They are one of my favorite couples I’ve read. It’s the way they interact. The way Neil will not touch Andrew because he knows Andrew doesn’t like it, and if Andrew does let Neil touch him, Neil won’t move his hand from the spot Andrew put it. Even to get his attention, Neil will not touch him. He will either grab his sleeve or put his hand out in front of Andrew to try to draw his attention to him. He doesn’t touch him. Then there’s what Andrew has given away for Neil. He let his secret about him being gay out because he wanted to make sure Neil was safe, he let people see his caring side(even though it is still aggressive somewhat), he starts to play Exy more seriously for him, and then there’s even more stuff that I can’t say because it’s all spoilers. They work so well together. My favorite chapter that shows them so well is Chapter Fourteen. It shows perfectly how Andrew is with Neil and what he would do for him. I loved that chapter. I loved the chapter after with the trash bags(You’ll understand if/when you read it) Neil and Andrew are a couple that if you didn’t already know from looking it up, you would of never known they would have gotten together. They have come a long way from the first chapter when Andrew hit Neil with a raquet.
  • The part where Neil broke down. I can’t go into a lot of it because it’s spoilers, but that whole scene I was fine into Neil said one line. I didn’t even realize exactly what he meant in that line until I went to the next page and saw what he was saying. I went back and read the phrase again and immediately my vision was blurry with tears. Within that one sentence was Neil breaking and giving up hope. Throughout the whole book it was him trying, hoping that he could life the life he wanted, and that line was him shattering all the hope. Throughout the rest of that whole part I was in tears until something good happened, and then it was tears of relief, and then it was once again tears for Neil’s broken state. I’ve always been able to handle reading more messed up things in books, because I know it’s not real(except for the second book in that series. It was terrifying how real that felt. Like I was in that room), but this one, because of Neil, affected me. I know I have compared this series to some sports anime for how the sport part of this book feels, but this one scene reminded me of Tokyo Ghoul. It reminded me of one of the times Kaneki breaks. One of those moments where he just couldn’t take it anymore and broke apart, laughing because he didn’t know what to feel anymore. I felt like I was watching a scene from Tokyo Ghoul. From me that is a huge compliment. Tokyo Ghoul is my favorite manga/anime. (If you want to know what sentence i’m talking about, Chapter Twelve, 24th paragraph from the end of the chapter, the last comma section of the second sentece, section starts with “and wished…”)
  • I could probably go on with pros forever, making each character they’re own pro, but that’s a lot. I’ll leave it off with the ending. I love how the ending was done. While there is a huge part of me that is screaming, MORE!!!, I think the way she ended it was very well done. (Though if she wants to write more I would definitely read it, without a doubt.) She left it with one chapter of Neil’s life ending and with him beginning another. It was a great way to end the book. Though there is still answers that I want, like, Aaron’s court case, Andrew seeing his foster mom at said court case, Kevin feelings on what happened with Riko. I wish we could of seen those, but even without seeing it I still thought it was a good ending. Endings can be hard, and I think Nora found a great way to close it off.

 

Cons

  • One of the things I noticed throughout all the books was the literal writing, like the grammar and use of words. There was a few things that were awkward sentences, and some things that should of had commas to help with the pacing, make it easier to read. There was a few times I had to go back and reread something. And if this was published by a major company this would be a bigger con then what it is, but the fact that she published this herself means there’s a chance she didn’t have an editor, which makes it barely a con. It’s a con if it bothers you too much. I understand how hard it can be to go back and try to edit your own work to the same extent an editor would. There is many times when I write something, it seems like it makes sense, but then someone else has a hard time reading it. For what she did, I don’t see it was much of a con, I just thought it should be mentioned that yes, there are times when the sentences are weird, or a comma is needed. And there was one sentence that I think was missing a word. I don’t know if my e-book app messed it up because it does mess some of my books up in some other ways. If I ever get a physical copy, which I hope to soon, then I will know if the author just forgot a word and never noticed.
  • There was only one inconsistent thing that I noticed. Neil with the media. In the beginning he didn’t want to be in front of camera, then he would make a huge show of it, but then he would go back to being scared of being in front of the cameras out of fear of being found. He would go back and forth with that a lot. I’ve also seen people say that Neil’s thoughts on Andrew were inconsistent, but I think it was more of Neil was in denial about everything. He didn’t want it to be real  because in his mind it was impossible for many reasons. His mother’s warning, him supposed to be leaving, and that fact that it’s Andrew. That was just part of Neil’s character, not an inconsistency.
  • Aaron. This is a con for me. I hate Aaron. The only parts I like about Aaron is what he did for Andrew in the second book, and when he says that he is going to leave and pretend he doesn’t know them, because I think that is funny. Otherwise Aaron is a cowardly dick, and I don’t like him. Everyone acts like Andrew is the dick, but Andrew only reacts when someone bothers him or his people. Aaron is a dick to everyone for no reason. He also instigate fights and arguments. I couldn’t stand Aaron. He was a brat. What he said to Neil at the mountains pissed me off. Who thinks that’s ok to say to anyone. And then he acts like his brother being gay is bothering him. It’s like he would rather just bring Andrew down more than help to pick him back up. Andrew isn’t the best brother but at least he is trying in his own way. I hate Aaron, but I do feel like his character was important and was needed, but I still hate him.

“He hadn’t realized how lonely he was until he met the Foxes.”

-Nora Sakavic

If anyone couldn’t tell, i’m obsessed with these books. This will be a series I will read again. I will buy and annotate, with sticky notes, all over some physical copies.I want them at my doorstep right now so I can get to work on it. Reading these books also is a help to my writing. It shows how much studying and working on your characters can make a book a masterpiece. She did so many things that I love and I’m still wanting to know why she is self published!! Was it a choice? Or was it because no one would buy the rights? If it’s the latter than they missed out on a great opportunity. I also have no idea if Nora is planning on writing anything else, I hope she is working on more books. I think she’s talented, and whatever she comes out with I will read. I don’t feel ready to be done with these books, but there’s nothing left to read. I’m going to miss the five foot, blonde, monster, who isn’t really a monster, and my two boys with their Exy obessions.

“Neil had been doing one stupid thing after another all year long and this has turned into one of the best years of his life.”

― Nora Sakavic

Contemporary · LGBT · Sports

The Raven King (All for the Game #2)

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The Raven King

Nora Sakavic

18187013

Publisher: Self Published by Nora Sakavic

Year Released: 2013

Date Read: September 16, 2018

Genre: Sports, LGBT, Contemporary

Grade: A+/ 5 Stars

***This become contains sexual abuse and talk of sexual abuse, torture, murder, abuse, gangs, drugs, and general violence. If you are sensitive to this or if these trigger you please either be cautious of it or do not read it. These are mentioned though a lot of the book so if this bothers you do not take it lightly and read it thinking the will only mention it once. For those are not into darker type of books, this is not for you.***

“You have this way of making people want to kill you,”

-Nora Sakavic

 

The war between the Foxes and the Ravens have started. After the aftermath of Riko’s warning, the team is having to cope and find out how to fix what they have lost. They only have a short amount of time before they play against Riko, but the team is having a hard time getting it together. The only one who can bring both side of the teams together is Neil, but to do that he will have to work with Andrew, which isn’t easy. To get Andrew to work with him, Neil must give up pieces of his life he has never given anyone. Neil has to rely on and trust the man everyone calls a monster in order to stay alive and beat Riko, for Kevin, and himself.

 

Writing a review for this book is hard. Finishing the last half was hard. Not because it was terrible, or bad, it was nowhere near bad. It was so hard to digest what was going on. I had known before reading this book that it was going to get dark, but it got darker than I thought. It shocked me to the point where I couldn’t even cry because I was still trying to fully register what was going on. It wasn’t until the aftermath that I started crying. The author doesn’t write the book in first person, yet I have never felt more immersed in a book. I felt like I was in that room, watching what was going on. It’s terrifying because it’s so real, and it happens, and it hurt, bad. I’ve cried reading many books, mostly for character’s death, no main character died, yet I felt the most pain reading that part of the book than any other book I’ve ever read. The book won’t leave my mind. It’s burnt it’s image in it. It was dark, but what happened after the dark moment is what hit me the hardest. I love this series more than I ever thought I would. It represents everything I have ever believed in. I had seen this book all over, and when I saw it, I thought it would just be a cute sports book that I would like, that it would be like the sports anime I watch like Haikyuu or Kuroko no Basket. I was so wrong. It’s like Haikyuu in certain ways, but it’s not a happy book, it’s not cheerful. It’s heartbreaking. I’ve read many books were characters were abused and it’s never broken me this much. And that’s probably because in most books it’s like a redemption story where they start to immediately get better, but that’s not how this book works. They don’t get automatically better, the change in them is small. They’re scared to change and still don’t know how to. The characters in this are slowly helping each other and it makes everything hit harder because it makes it real. People who have been knocked down their whole life don’t usually just take medicine once, or get up one day and decide that everything is better. It’s usually is a growing process and that’s what happening. This book has made its way up to my top favorite books.

 

Pros

  • The character development. Everything in these books have subtle growth. The characters have gotten closer to each other then they have in the first book, but they’re not all friends still. Neil has gotten more brave. He isn’t wanting to run away even though he knows he is in danger. Andrew is opening up and trusting Neil more. Neil is starting to see them as friends, even if he doesn’t realize it. He went through two weeks of pain to help Andrew. The character’s growth isn’t something that sticks out, but you can definitely see the change in all the characters.
  • Andrew. Once again, I LOVE Andrew, and this book made me love him more. You find out a lot about Andrew through this book. A lot of people say that characters are complicated but I have never see a more complicated character to explain then Andrew. There is just so many elements to him, and while this book helps to make him a little less unpredictable, he still catches you off guard. I have no idea how to really explain his character without going into a hour long speech, with a whole presentation, with quotes and drawn up pictures. So, the easiest way to say it is, Andrew goes from being seen as a psychopath to someone who found a way of coping through his life by making everything into a game. I don’t think Andrew is a psychopath, he just has a weird way of helping people and dealing with how he feels about everything.
  • Neil. Neil really is a good character. He starts out in the series not caring about anyone, because it’s what he was taught to do. He doesn’t want to be friends with anyone and he doesn’t trust anyone. After losing his mom he is lost and knows that he just wants to survive. By the end of the second book though,Neil has started to change his thoughts on all of that. By the end of the first book, when Kevin was freaked out Neil took the attention off him and put it on himself even though he knew it would put him in danger. In the beginning all Neil cared about was surival and playing Exy one last time. Now he would give up Exy if it meant he could help one of them. He is starting to trust in people and find his own reasons to stop running and live a life he always wanted. He knows staying could mean dying, but he is risking it, to play Exy, but also because he doesn’t want to leave the people who are making them feel like family. There’s a part where Nicky tells Neil, “It’s about family. Not necessarily the one we were born with, but the one we chose…. The people we trust to be part of our lives. The people we care about.” Neil takes this to heart and it’s such a difference from how he felt in the first book. It shows that he is being able to heal and find a place he wants to belong in.
  • Once again, the writing. I really want to know why these are self published. I feel like i’m there with the characters. She is able to fully immerse you into the story.  You feel a connection to all the characters.It’s really good. I love it. I want to read it over and over again. I will read it again eventually. I don’t doubt that.
  • The ending. That ending. It was dark and I loved it. I loved it’s translation into the next book. I loved it. It helps people to understand Kevin’s life before joining the team. It’s very dark, but within that one chapter it sums up what these books are. It sums up the before and the parts of Neil’s life that he is changing. It was a great ending and it makes you respect certain characters so much more than you already did.
  • I put this one last because it’s more on the spoiler side. So be warned. It’s a spoiler. I will make the cons way lower so you don’t have to even risk seeing this but I have to mention it in the pros. It’s the part of the book that hit me the most in the best way and I can’t stop thinking about. It needs to be praised……….. The immediate help for Andrew. As soon as they knew what has been happening to him, and why he acts how he does, they didn’t hesitate to drop everything and help him. They didn’t care that they could lose their games, or that he wouldn’t be calmer anymore. They just wanted him to be able to be helped. That’s the moment I started to cry a lot. That’s when the shock was gone and I was just sobbing. I’ve always loved these types of books, the ones with troubled characters, like the Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. They all show something that I believe in. They all show something that people forget. These are just kids, they’re barely adults. There is more to them they how they act out. That people who are troubled usually have a reason why and that they deserve just as much help as anyone. They deserve to have chances to redeem or fix themselves to be who they want. The psychologist did something in this, in this book, I hope all psychologist do. She cared that Andrew needed help, and that the medicine wasn’t going to help him. Keeping him on the medicine would of been the easiest route for everyone, but she knew that it was hurting him more then it was helping him, so put Andrew’s needs first. I loved this scene. I loved how everyone put aside their differences and did what they needed to get Andrew help. That whole part of the book was hard to read but that one part of them getting together to help him made it so much easier to get through it. I cried more at that part then I did at the part before it.

 

Cons

 

Seeing Cons in this book was hard once I got to the tough part of the book. I was so focused on what was going on that I didn’t really notice any flaws. I don’t think it’s right to sit here and try to come up with flaws either. The only thing I feel like people might think is a flaw is how extreme some of the characters are but I think that’s because they’re not taking the time to understand the characters and that people react differently to different events. In the first book, the characters did seem extreme, but after reading this book they don’t. I’m know there is a con in this book because all books have their imperfect parts, but I was so immersed in reading that I didn’t see one. Maybe it’s the honeymoon phase, or maybe it really is just that good to me that I’m blinded by all pros. I don’t know. I know that i could say that it being so dark is a con, but to me it isn’t. I think, while it was one of the darkest things I have ever read, it went well with the story and was written and done very well. To me it isn’t a con. If I can think of a con I will update it later, but at this point in time I can’t think of one I felt while reading, and I’m not going to be unfair and try to think of one just so I have one. I enjoyed the book so much that I didn’t want to put it down. The last time binged a book this hard was Red Rising, which is in my top five favorite series. At this point in time, I don’t have a con.

“As he listened to them, Neil realised he was happy. It was such an unexpected and unfamiliar feeling he lost track of the conversation for a minute.”

― Nora Sakavic

I am in love with this series. I’m glad that after going back and searching, I found that there are physical versions of this book and not just e-books. I want them all. I want to go back and annotate it all over. There is so much in this books, and they’re not even big books. They’re small, yet they have so much put into it. I haven’t redone my top books in a while, but after a few weeks to see if my love for it is just the honeymoon phase, it might move one of my top fives out. It’s definitely in the top ten though. High top ten. If it’s not the top five, it’s number six. After the series I actually kind of want to go through and break down all the characters, and put together why they do what they do, and how they are. This is a really character heavy story and I love it. I love it for the same reason i loved Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Boys. These are my favorite type of books and It’s books like this that I’m glad I’m in love with books, and became a book reader. I’m glad I found this book and read it. It was the book I didn’t know I needed.

“He was their family. They were his. They were worth every cut and bruise and scream.”

― Nora Sakavic

Contemporary · LGBT · Sports

The Foxhole Court

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The Foxhole Court

Nora Sakavic

17259690

Publisher: Self Published by Nora Sakavic

Release Year: 2013

Date Read: September 15, 2018

Genre: Sports, LGBT, Contemporary, Young Adult

Rating: B/ 4 Stars

***This book series features talk of abuse, murder, torture, gangs, violence in general, and I believe later it may contain self mutilation, and rape, but I can be not. If this concerns you or triggers you I would advise looking more into it before reading. This book is on the darker side and talks of abuse a lot. If you are uncomfortable with it or it triggers you be cautious. This reviews talks about the abuse and the way I talk about it isn’t meant to offend or say that you have to feel this way. It’s all based on what I have learned self studying child psychology from a young age and other people I know personal experiences. ***

“It’s about second chances, Neil. Second, third, fourth, whatever, as long as you get at least one more than what anyone else wanted to give you.”

― Nora Sakavic

Neil has been on the run for eight years, not for a crime he did, but from a criminal he is avoiding, his father. Neil’s father is a murderer known as The Butcher, and Neil will do whatever he needs to do to not end up in his hands again, but when Neil gets the chance to play his favorite sport for the last time he can’t help himself. Neil is the new addition to the Palmetto State University Exy team, a team full of delinquents and people who most don’t want to give any more chances. Even though the team is full of trouble, especially one who is psycho in every way, the team members aren’t what puts Neil in danger. The team is well known, and it doesn’t help that a star player from another school is now on their team, and with him comes spotlight, something Neil has been avoiding. Now Neil must ask himself which is more important, Exy, or his life.

We’ve been told over and over not to judge a book on it’s cover, that is very literal with this one. I will admit, the cover put me off because it seemed like it was just something someone put on a fanfiction website, but when I found out why the cover looks like that I understood, and also was amazed. This book is self published, which makes it clear why the cover looks that way, but what I want to know is if the book is self published because no one wanted to publisher it for her, because if that’s the case, they messed up. While the description of this book seemed like it was a lot, when you read it, it doesn’t seem like it at all. It was to me, like I was watching Haikyuu(A sports anime for those who don’t know), mixed with a much darker version of the Raven Boys from Maggie Stiefvater, two things I love. This book mostly is set around before the start of the games to let you get to know the characters and how they interact with each other. It lets you get to know all the characters before you get to see them in action at the games. It mainly features Neil hanging around four other characters, Andrew, the psycho that everyone is too scared to mess with, Aaron, his twin brother and that’s all his character is, Kevin, the Exy star with a forever damaged left hand and family issues, and Nicky, Andrew and Aaron’s flirty gay cousin, which is why I described it as a darker version of the Raven Boys.

 

Pros

 

  • I hate watching sports. I cannot stand it. I don’t care about sports at all. The only sports I watch is anime sport shows and it’s more about the characters and feeling happy for them then for the sport. This book is a sports book, and I loved reading them play the sport. Not only to cheer for them, but because I actually thought the made up sport was interesting. It’s brutal. The characters start to physically fight during the game and then just go back to playing as if they weren’t just in a fight. To make it better… This is a co-ed sport. They have girls on their team who get just as violent and rough as they do. As someone who hates watching real sports, I loved reading them play it. Mostly because they are all aggressive and brutal.
  • Andrew. I love Andrew. And while I love Andrew just for being Andrew, my favorite part of Andrew is how he is written. The main character calls Andrew a Psychotic Midget, and he is not wrong. Andrew is terrifying. If I met a man like him in real life I would run. Andrew has two sides, his medicated side that is full of calm smiles that make him less aggressive, but still calculating and scary, and his sober side which is pure anger and aggression. But, It’s not just how Andrew acts that makes terrifying, it’s how people act around him. No one wants to have back facing Andrew. They all want him where they can see him, especially when he is angry. Even when he is angry he will smile calmly, as if nothing is wrong, but they know what will happen if they turn around while he is angry at them. Everyone in the book fears him.  No one wants to be around him when he is not on his medicine. They all avoid him on whatever cost. Their looks of fear and the way they go out of their way to avoid him is to an extreme. He has also beaten people almost to their literal death. Neil doesn’t call Andrew Psychotic as an exaggeration. The way the author writes Andrew makes you fear him as if he is real. She writes him so well. He’s unpredictable and terrifying. It’s something that I will never be able to explain completely. The way the other character fear him makes him even worse. They fear him like someone would fear a killer.
  • The bonds between the characters. I keep comparing this book to The Raven Boys and there’s a reason. My favorite part of The Raven boys is the special bond between each characters. Each character has a different relationship and friendship for each character. That’s how this book is. The book focuses a lot on how each character interacts with another character and how they bond. It’s a very character driven story, which is something I personally love.  
  • The accuracy or abused people. It’s not a mystery that Neil is abused, his dad is a crazed murderer that he is running from. A lot of authors write abused characters but make them mostly only fear the abuser, which is how it is for some people, but a lot of people who are abused fear anyone they can relate to their abuser. Neil’s reaction to adult males compared to women and people his age is very realistic. Neil isn’t an abused character just to make his character abused or to appeal to the audience, it’s apart of him. It control him in some situations. And yes, Neil being abused is a huge part of his character, but it makes sense for it to be, he has been dealing with it and running from it his whole life. He hasn’t had time to not think about him being abused or his abuser. Running from his abuser has been his life for years, so it makes sense for a major part of his story to be focused on his abused self, but it also doesn’t focus on it where that’s all Neil is. Neil has other characteristics and does in fact not let it control him fully. He says what he believes in and doesn’t let people push him around. He stands up for himself and others, but there are times when the fear does control him and he does cower or start to shut down. Neil is an abused character, but his character is not only abused.
  • The LGBT part. While it is labeled as LGBT, it barely comes across as that. Now let me explain why that’s a pro before it seems like i’m saying something else. As I have said before, there are a lot of authors who make their characters only talk about being gay, only think about how they are gay, and all of their actions can relate to them being gay. It makes it come across as the characters are gay to just be gay and nothing more. Like the characters are there to say you have a gay character so you look more diverse. While there is more LGBT things to come in the series, this book only brings it up when Nicky is talking about how he is gay or flirting, or when Nicky is asking Neil which gender he likes. Neil, in the first book, never says if he likes either, and always just either ignores the question or denies liking either. The story focuses on the characters bonding instead of the LGBT part of it. Like some of the characters just happen to be gay instead of their characters only being gay. While being gay is a big part of someone’s life, it’s not all they are. There is more to them they who they like and their character should only revolve around that unless it’s exactly the plot of the book like Simon vs. Homosapien Agenda. Since this books focuses more on Neil choosing between the life he wants vs the abused life he knows it should focus more on his feelings towards the two then on which gender he likes. So the subtle amount of it in the first book makes it perfect and gives it time to build like real relationships and feelings do.

 

Cons

 

  • If you are a sports lover and want to read this book for sports reason, in this book they only actually play once. That’s not to say they don’t play more in the rest of the series, but in this book they only play an actual game against someone once. It’s a sports book but it focus a lot more on the lives of the characters than the sports. But it is a interesting made up sport that has been explained like a cross between lacrosse and hockey and it is actually fun to read them play it, and they do practice a lot. But the book is more drama than them playing the sport.
  • It has these weird moments. There were times that something happened and I had no idea why or it isn’t explained why it happened. It mostly is with Andrew, who does a lot of unexplained things, but it was still weird. One part that I couldn’t understand was why Andrew doesn’t want Neil to wear his contacts. It’s not explained, just that Andrew doesn’t want him to wear them and might harass Neil if he wears them out. It was weird. Now some of the weird things do get explained, but not in the first book, so it just stays weird.
  • To someone who doesn’t like problematic characters this book will be a big problem. Literally every character is problematic with a past. It’s definitely a darker book.So if not into that, don’t read it.
  • This book is mainly only found as an e-book. The only way I have found to buy paperbacks of the books is on Amazon. The author is self published though so it’s easy to understand that e-books would be easier to make than a lot of books she would of had to pay for without being certain people would’ve liked it. I have looked on Amazon though and they are there for sale.

“I’m not scared of Kevin. I know him.”

“You’re going to eat those words,” Neil said. “You’re going to choke on them.”

― Nora Sakavic

I really loved this book. I read it in two days. The first day I thought it was ok, but then spent all day wanting to stop everything to read the book. I wanted to just sit there all day and read it. I went to write and instead found myself looking at pictures of The Foxhole Court. I loved the characters and the drama that went on. I’m already halfway through the second book and am in love with it. I stayed up till seven in the morning reading it….. Now I do binge a lot of books but I don’t feel the need to drop everything, including sleep, to finish reading it. Only a few books have done it. This was one.

“Hope was a dangerous, disquieting thing, but he thought perhaps he liked it.”

― Nora Sakavic

I recommend the book to those who liked the Raven Boys(Especially Ronan) and want a much darker version where they play sports instead of searching for the welsh king.

“Andrew was smiling, but Neil knew his cheer didn’t mean he was going to play nice. He’d been smiling when he smashed a racquet into Neil’s stomach, too.”

― Nora Sakavic