Tag: Book Review

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

Fantasy · Paranormal · Science Fiction · Uncategorized

The Queen’s Wing

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The Queen’s Wing

Jessica Thorne

41443903

 

Publisher: Bookouture

Release Date: November 21, 2018

Date Read: September 11, 2018

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Sci-fi

Rating: B/ 4 Stars

“She killed her with a pair of embroidery scissors!”

Like’s that the sin here. I used embroidery scissors.

-Jessica Thorne, The Queen’s Wing

***I got this ARC from Netgalley and the books publisher in exchange with the hope of a review. The feelings for this book are mine and mine alone.***

There is almost nothing Bel loves more than flying, but when the royal family, her distant family, is wiped out, Bel’s dad takes the throne. One of his first demands on the throne is for an alliance to be formed by marrying Bel off to a man she has never met or seen planets away. To help her family, Bel has to give up everything, flying, her family, the guy she loves, to marry Conleith, a widowed man who rules a world opposite of hers. Bel must try to find her balance at this new place where people think she is a savage, while also trying to survive assassination attempts from the people who killed her cousins, the mysteries that surround Conleith’s world, and find out if she is really going to marry Conleith because she wants to or because she is being told to.

The Queen’s Wing is a fantasy book that mixes with the sci-fi genre. Bel comes from a world where everyone, including women, are ready for a fight if needed, and ride in the air. Conleith’s world is more peaceful and elegant. They aren’t really fighters, which is what brings Conleith and Bel together. I tend to not really enjoy sci-fi. There’s only really one Sci-fi book that I like, which is Red Rising by Pierce Brown.(It is one of my favorite books serious that I recommend to everyone.) I am happy to add The Queen’s Wing to that list. As soon as I started reading and saw them talking about other planets, and some other sci-fi elements, I felt like I was going to not like it, but the fantasy part made the book better. Although the book does take place within different planets it is a fantasy at heart. There’s space ships, but only for a few chapters and then it’s life at the kingdom. I also really enjoyed Bel. In the beginning, to me, Bel sounded childish. She has this way of thinking in the beginning that is dream like. Her thoughts are like day dreams and her wishing and thinking of what she wants to happen. But after her father takes the throne that is gone and Bel becomes selfless and serious, but still remaining herself. She comes into her new life of being the royal princess quickly and starts to take charge. Bel felt like a real person, not just a character. This book really reminds me of The Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard, expect without all the betrayal. It has those elements from the Red Queen series that I enjoyed and i think if you like  the Red Queen series this is a good new series that is going to be coming out to look at.

 

Pros

  • I really enjoyed Conleith, and he isn’t the typical character I like. I like characters like Rowan from the Throne of Glass series, Warner from Shatter Me, Cardan from The Cruel Prince. I like the more darker characters or warrior types. I guess it follows that cliche of liking bad boys but mine is in book form only. Con is nothing like those characters, the other male interest is, but I didn’t like him nearly as much as Con. From the moment Con appeared I knew I would be cheering for him. He is sweet, treats Bel like a equal, so adorably shy. He is more sweet and gentle, but he does get angry and that side of him still has a gentle side even though he is yelling at people. He is also incredibly smart, and just watching him try to make Bel happy about their situation is heartwarming. Con was probably my favorite character, even more than Bel maybe.
  • There’s two LGBTQ characters who don’t seem to just be in it to help sell the book. They are not overstated or talked about so much to the point where it becomes apparent that they are there for nothing more than to be LGBTQ. It’s more like the two characters happen to LGBTQ. It doesn’t define them as their whole character.
  • Although Bel does get an almost instant attraction to Con, they’re relationship is slow growing. They fight and argue, have awkward moments around each other, and then have their bonding moments. Even with Shae, which is someone she knew her own life, it’s also a growing relationship of them figuring out what and how they feel about each other. I’m usually not a fan of love triangles, but this also isn’t a normal love triangle. To understand why you’ll have to read.

 

Cons

  • They kept mentioning an empress and it seemed like there was a dislike for her, but they never go into it. I don’t know if that’s something that the later books will go into, but for this one it doesn’t.
  • The beginning can be somewhat confusing, or it was for me at least. The author just kind of goes into the story without explaining anything, but as the story goes on she does start to explain more. It’s one of those book where the more you read the more you can understand it.
  • There is one more part that I personally find a con but I’m not sure if I can say it because the book hasn’t been released yet. Once it’s released I may come back and write it in, in place of this. I will say it’s a con for me but I know it’s not for a lot of people, and that this con didn’t change how I felt about this book at all.

 

I think this is a really good upcoming series for sci-fi and fantasy readers. It had really good characters with a good plot. I had actually planned on splitting this book up into different days to read it but I ended up reading it in one night. I couldn’t put it down. I have no self control, especially with books. I plan on reading the second book whenever it comes out.

 

Fantasy · Magic · Romance

Fire Study (Study #3)

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Fire Study

Maria V Snyder

1966969

Publisher: Mira Books

Year Released: 2008

Date Read:  Septemeber 10, 2018

Genre: Fantasy, Magic, Romance

Grade: B/ 4 Stars

 

“There’s always another storm. It’s the way the world works. Snowstorms, rainstorms, windstorms, sandstorms, and firestorms. Some are fierce and others are small. You have to deal with each one separately, but you need to keep an eye on whats brewing for tomorrow.”

― Maria V. Snyder

 

A war between the magicians and Ixia is about to take place. Yelena is finishing her apprenticeship, but still is having trouble proving to the Magicians Council that she is not against them or trying to  betray them. Matters are only made worse when a plot is made against Yelena that makes everyone out to get her. Yelena must get all of her friends together to try to stop the war that is brewing and save Sitia from its own destruction. There’s only one more problem. One of their friends is betraying them, and Yelena doesn’t know who.

Fire Study is the best of both the first and second book of the Study series. You get all the characters from the first book and all the characters from the second book working together, either helping or trying to get rid of Yelena and Ixia. An even better part is that it’s a book that is pretty much full of Yelena and Valek. It’s also full of more of Yelena’s sneaky plan’s and Valek’s plan B’s which is just him cutting throats.

 

Pros

  • Even though there is more of Valek in this book, it’s still not romance heavy. Maria V Snyder always has a way of putting her romance in the background and letting the characters figuring themselves out and growing take the lead. She also always make the male interest majorly supporting the main character. They are there to help them with what they need, and to help them grow. But she does it in a way that doesn’t make the male interests just a support character with nothing else to them. In the Healer series, Kerrick is also there to help Avry but he also has his own goals that he sets out to do. Avry helps him and he helps Avry. It’s the same with Valek and Yelena. I really enjoy reading Maria V Snyder’s relationships, not only with the couples, but the friends. The friend’s bonds aren’t as strongly written as Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Boys series, but it’s still very present.
  • Yelena’s growth. Her growth throughout the three books seems subtle but as she has figured out her new powers she has grown with them. She went from being someone who avoided the conflict and was just trying to survive in the first book, to saving both the place she grew up  in and the place she was meant to be. She’s gotten more confident in herself and mentions Reyad less showing that she is learning to move on from the pains in her past. 
  • There’s more action scenes this time. Even if there’s not actual fighting all the tie there’s scenes that get intense and make you want to keep turning the page.

 

Cons

 

  • Cahil is still an annoying brat through most of it. He got more ok towards the end though. I was hoping Valek would just kill him through it. 
  • The book can be seen as boring possibly because it is almost the same as the second book. More sneaking around, council doesn’t like Yelena, people trying to make Yelena pick a side, a lot of people want to kill her. It’s the same as the second book with just different events. I still enjoyed it but I can see how someone could think it was repetitive.

“It’s the problem with mistakes, they tend to linger.”

― Maria V. Snyder

This is the second series written by Maria V Snyder that I have loved and i’m glad that it’s not over. I only finished the first half of the Study series and will soon start the second part of Yelena’s story with the Soul Finders series. I can’t wait to see what new issues Yelena will have in the Soul Finders series and have more of her and Valek. This book was a good conclusion to the first half of the series and marks a good place to take a break on from. Everything is solved with no foreshadowing so you can read this book and be content to stop. You wouldn’t even have to read the second half if you just wanted to leave Yelena’s story there. This is a good series to read if you like magic, adventure, political disagreements, assassins, diversity, kingdoms, and if you liked Maria V Snyder’s Healer series. 

 

Children/ Middle School · Contemporary · Graphic Novel

Crush

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Crush

Svetlana Chmakova

cover148345-medium

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: October 30, 2018

Date Read:  September 10, 2018

Genre: Graphic Novels, Children’s Fiction, Middle School

Grade: B-/ 3.5 Stars

***This ARC was given to me from Netgalley. That does not change my views on the book. I was not told to review it or to write a positive review. I was given the ARC in the hopes of writing the review. ***

Crush is a graphic novel about a giant middle schooler named Jorge. Jorge is a athlete who uses his big size to stop people from bullying other kids and is generally just nice to everyone. Through one of his friends, Olivia, he meets a girl who he starts to develop a crush on. This graphic novel is a middle school story about fitting in and showing the growth that a few simple years can make.

Being someone who just recently graduated high school reading this graphic novel was like looking back at the sweeter memories of middle school and high school. I can’t give my review as a kid in middle school reading it but I can on an adult reading it and as someone who didn’t really like school, for the reasons in this book, it did make me smile remembering school, which is an achievement in it’s own. It made me laugh reading the kids feel like it was the end of the world with the little drama that was going on. It made me laugh because I do remember being in middle school and thinking all the little drama going on was so much bigger than it actually was and worrying about it for days when in reality it didn’t even matter at all. There were so many little memories of school tied into a 240 page book. It was worth the read for that alone. There was also a bunch of little other details that made this book very cute and something I think children, especially middle schoolers should read.

 

Pro

  • The diversity. They put in so many diverse characters and put them in there like they belonged, because they do. The kids didn’t question that their female teacher had a wife, or that their coach was wearing a hijab. To the kids it was normal, which is what we should be teaching our kids.
  • The coach taught the kids that our bodies are ours and no one else has the rights to touch or speak about your bodies. That it is not ok to touch someone without their permission. It’s something we never thought we would have to teach kids but i’m glad the book did it how it did. It showed how uncomfortable and wrong it is to even as a ‘joke’ touch someone when they didn’t want to be. I remember people doing this as a ‘joke’ in high school and when I told them I didn’t want to be touch they would do that manipulation thing where they tell you, “It was just a joke”, trying to make you feel ridiculous for being upset about it. This happens in the book and the way it was handled shows young readers how it should be handled.
  • They expressed how you should never wear or do something just because someone else likes it. That if you want to wear something, but don’t because you know people won’t like it, that you should wear it anyways because if someone has a problem with it then they are not for you.
  • I know a lot of people think the jocks in school being jerks is just a stereotype and for some people, it might, but I remember in my high school the stereotype fit a lot of the jocks. And I know people think it’s not because they’re jocks, it’s just how they are, and to a degree that might be right, but the jock part does also make a play into it. There was a part of the book where they talked about a certain kid who was a jock and did things such as, bullying, playing ‘jokes’ on people, and just being a jerk, just to see how much he could get away with it. And he did get away with it. People let him because he was the popular jock. The kids in school gave him special privileges for it when they shouldn’t have. It turned him into a person who thought they could get away with anything and people don’t matter. I was forced to be around people like that all day. The school idolized them and acted like they could do nothing wrong when they did all the time. I remember a bunch of athletic kids bully a girl in my class out loud in the middle of a class discussions. They wouldn’t let her speak and just downed her every time. The worst part was our teacher was a coach and let them do it. He let then shut her down to the point where she wouldn’t try speaking anymore and then laughed at her when she said it was because she was tired of them picking on her like that. I know people get tired of the cliche that jocks are jerks but stop acting like they can do no wrong and giving them a narcissistic personality.by doing so.
  • Lastly the relationships, not just the romantic ones but the friendships. It showed the bad parts and the goods parts and what relationships with anyone should be like and what they shouldn’t be like.
  • The art is cute.

 

Cons

 

  • It’s pretty short since it’s only 240 pages but it’s a graphic novel and they don’t tend to be long. That did make it hard to elaborate on things.
  • A lot of things did seem to happen for convenience. It was very easy to tell what was going to happen because of it, and i will admit that it seemed like the diverse characters were there just to have them there.

 

Despite the convenience, it was a fun read and if you want something fun and quick to read this is a good one. It took me only around a hour or so to finish it. It was an easy read that had me smiling as I read it. It did middle school in such a cliche, but also real way that will make anyone reminiscence on the time they had in middle school.

Fantasy · Magic · Romance

Magic Study

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Magic Study (Study #2)

Maria V Snyder

1265703

 

Publisher: Mira

Year Released: 2007

Date Read: September 8, 2018

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Magic, Romance

Grade: B/ 4 Stars

“I’ll have you know that the most delicate flowers often produce the strongest scent when crushed.”

― Maria V. Snyder

**This review contains talk of things that could trigger some people. If you do not wish to read things that contain talk of rape or rape victims then please either do not read this review or just be aware of it.**

 

Magic Study is the sequel to Maria V Snyder’s Poison Study. Yelena no longer is having to test foods for poison but that doesn’t stop her life from being in danger. Yelena has left Ixia, the place where magic is banned, and now is in her home land where she will meet her family she was taken from and learn more about herself as she learns magic. Learning about her new magic is the easiest part of Yelena’s new life as she tries to solve who is kidnapping and killing girls, and stopping multiple people from trying to kill her, not to mention being named a spy by a man who claims he is the rightful heir to the throne in Ixia. More and more problems pile on to Yelena as she starts to uncover more about her would be life.

Going into this book I was scared that I wouldn’t love it as much as the first book, or just hate it general. I was glad those thoughts did not become true. I loved this book almost as much as I loved the first one. I thought I was going to miss Yelena’s constant interactions with Valek throughout the whole book but Yelena’s story kept busy. There was never an off period where nothing was happening. Yelena was always having something going on. Drama with her family(mainly her brother, Lief), constant ridicule from the same two people, being chased by a man whose pride was taken by Yelena, and trying to stop a man from harming more girls. It was a packed story but it wasn’t too packed where it seemed like to much. It was just the right amount where you never got bored reading it.

 

Pro

  • I don’t know how she hasn’t, but Maria V Snyder needs to be praised for how she writes how Yelena handles being raped and how she comforts other girls who go through it. I loved in the first book when she spoke briefly about it but I especially loved how she spoke about it in this one. Her conversation with Tula about how none of it was her fault, and then told her that it was going to be a battle to get through it but everyone would be there to help her.
  • Valek’s love and loyalty to Yelena. Valek make it apparent that whatever Yelena wants from him all she has to do is ask him for it. Valek will give her anything or do anything for her. He is constantly popping into her head when she is in need of it and asking her what he can do for her, and no matter how weird or impossible her request is, all he says is he will do it with him calling her love tied onto the end of it Valek was only in this book for a little less than half(if even that) and he still had me swooning over him.

Cons

  • The only real con I can think of is that this book does have a lot of drama going on, though that wasn’t a con for me, it might be for others. There was a lot more action and fighting scenes then the first book.
  • Cahal is annoying, but that’s his character. He is very obnoxious and is always angry for no reason. He is very bratty and reading about a very bratty man isn’t the most enjoyable. The more he shows up the more the dislike for him grows. He gets worse as the book goes on, though i’m sure that was the point of his character. 

“And what did you give him in return?”…

“My heart.”

― Maria V. Snyder

Magic Study was just as good as Poison Study. The characters have grown and changed from the first one and the story is progressing in a good way. The action is coming along more and so is Yelena as a character. There is a lot of times when some off the middle books in a series get boring but this one kept my attention well. It was a very good addition to the series.

“Living is a risk…Every decision, every interaction, every step, every time you get out of bed in the morning, you take a risk. To survive is to know you’re taking that risk and to not get out of bed clutching illusions of safety.”

― Maria V. Snyder

Contemporary · Fantasy · Mystery · Suspense · Thriller

Lies You Never Told Me

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Lies You Never Told Me

Jennifer Donaldson

36547961

Publisher: Razorbill

Year Released: 2018

Year I Read It: 2018

Genre: Young Adult, Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Contemporary, Suspense

Grade:  D/ 2.5 Stars

 

*Before you read this review please know that there is talk of many things that might trigger people. Mostly being manipulation and relationship problems. Those are the only triggers within the review, but there are more in the book. To see the ones in the book please scroll to the bottom and read them. I will make them bold so they stand out clearly.*

 

Gabe and Elyse are two teenagers with two separate lives in two separate places. Both of them have things that they are hiding. Although they live in different towns, they both have one thing in common, both make the mistake of picking the wrong person for them. Elyse is shy but is forced to come into the spotlight when she is surprisingly casted as Juliet by the new drama teacher. Elyse believes she needs extra rehearsals which leads her to someone she should not be with. Gabe on the other hand has all he ever wanted, a hot popular girlfriend. To bad she is terrible and slightly crazed. Gabe thought she would be all he ever wanted but finds himself wanting to break up with her. These two actions made by these two people make the biggest impacts on their lives and might even bring them together.

 

I won this book on a Goodreads giveaway and in the spirit of winning one I figured I should give it a review. Sadly I did not finish the book nor could I bring myself to finish it. My reason for not finishing it wasn’t because it was an awful story. I just figured it all out very quickly and it got boring to me once I knew what was going to happen. I was reading what I already knew and it got less entertaining as I read it. Once I got halfway I figured out the plot twist and from there i couldn’t bring myself to finish it. I used to watch a lot of lifetime and this book was like that. Once you watch one of them you start to understand how they all work so figuring out what was going to happen in this book wasn’t hard and to me was just like watching another crazy lifetime movie.

 

Pro

  • If you are a fan of lifetime movies then this is like one of those movies in book form. It has that crazy atmosphere with people making horrible decisions. It definitely has some moments that make you think, what the hell is going on. It does what all lifetimes movies do, making you think about everything you do and focus on the negative possibilities more than the positive.
  • If you like stories that are messed up in a psychological way this is one of those. It’s not the horrifying type of psychological, but the type that really makes you think about what you do, and who you should trust.
  • It does teach the lesson to be cautious of who you give your heart and trust to. Get to know them more before you go all in. People are good at acting to get what they want. Watch out for signs and if you see a bad one, don’t blow it off but instead investigate it deeper.

Cons

  • It is very easily to tell what is going to happen, maybe not to the full extent, but the future of what is going to happen within the book isn’t hidden. Through the characters actions and choices it’s very easy to know what they will do next and predict everything.
  • Elyse is one of the characters you want to help but also ask why is she being so dumb. She’s that typical teenager who makes every bad decision because she can and part of her feels like the world owes it to her. It does provide in depth why she feels that way by showing her home life, and it does make sense, but watching her mess up where most people would know that’s not a good idea is one of those moments where you cringe because her decisions can be so dumb. I would say it was like the author wrote her like she thinks a high school girl would act, but I have personally seen high school girls act like Elyse did so the author wasn’t actually wrong in her character, and the author did show how easy it can be for a man to manipulate a younger girl. For showing how a grown man can exploit a girl, who has nothing, like it was nothing more than a game, I give her props. As someone who doesn’t mind reading age gapes in romance (within reason and something that clearly isn’t manipulation, and also not like 15 years old ) I know that age gapes do get romanticized a lot, mostly in fantasy settings, so I liked that she showed the realness of what could actually happen in that situation and why young girls should be cautious of getting into a relationship with a older man.

 

The book had its good parts and its bad parts. I don’t tend to read a lot of psychological thrillers, I tend to prefer watching them, so I don’t know how they are usually written, it could just be me. Also I believe this is her first book and for a first book it was good, but as someone who loves mystery… everything, I didn’t think this was a good mystery. I’ve been stumped many times with mysteries and this I got instantly. Once a mystery is figured out the flame starts to die down, and unless the author fans the flame the fire gets put out. If you’re looking for a mystery, this is not one I would recommend, but if you want a disturbing story about the abusive relationships of two teenagers then I would recommend this one. It made you feel disturbed reading it, which you should when reading something so problematic. Once again, I give the author props on the relationships because watching Elyse’s views on her relationship change do seem so real, and watching both Elyse and Gabe slowly see real cruel parts of the people they loved did make you feel something. And this does happen to people, especially young people because they lack experience in this area. As someone who was lead on by someone’s lies, although it was not a boyfriend or a girlfriend, but someone very important to me, I have felt somewhat like what they have gone through and I think people should be more aware of telltale signs of when a person is not who they act/say they are.

 

*This book does feature, people on drugs, manipulation, stalking, abusive relations, and bad relationships with parents. If any of these do trigger you or you don’t like reading then be aware or don’t this book. It does go into depth with all of these, it’s not just a glimpse into them. This book is very heavy with manipulation and pathological liars.*

 

On the other hand if you are someone who doesn’t know the signs of someone manipulating you then this is a good book to help you understand those moments, and to watch out for them. Manipulation can be very subtle and a lot of times people don’t know they are being manipulated. It happens more than you think.

Fantasy · Magic · Romance

Poison Study

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Poison Study

Maria v. Snyder

60510

Publisher: Mira

Year Released: 2007

Date I Read It: August 28, 2018

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Magic

Grade: B/ 4 Stars

“To Yelena, our newest food taster. May you last longer than your predecessor.”

― Maria V. Snyder

Yelena is given the choice of death or a small chance at life after she is arrested for murder. The  Commander is in need of a new food taste tester, and Yelena would like to live. To prevent Yelena from running away she is given the poison, Butterfly Dust, which she needs to take a daily antidote of to stay alive. The only one who can give her the antidote is the Chief of Security, Valek, who also makes her learn how to taste and smell poisons, and sometimes even ingest them to learn the immediate symptoms. Yelena thought her only problem would be risking her life by taking the chance of being poisoned, but as the father of the man she murdered tries to have her assassinated and spies betray the castle, Yelena will find out the job that already seemed impossible to survive just got even more impossible.

If you enjoy fantasy books that take place inside of a castle type setting with spies, assassination attempts, forbidden magic, and a handsome killer with a growing soft spot you would probably enjoy this book. After reading Maria V Snyder’s Healer series I decided that I would try out her other series, Poison Study. Maria V Snyder’s book reminds me of all the adult type books I read without all the adult content(Although some is there just not descriptive). She doesn’t focus on the romance, but on the main character dealing with her problem. The romance is present, but her main characters always tend to focus on their objectives more than their love interest which is refreshing since a lot of young adult books do tend to focus on the love interest.(Which I don’t mind, I love, but it is nice to step away from it for awhile) She also has a way of making the main character coming off as strong without overly doing it or making them invincible. In this book Yelena is not really a fighter, she’s just does what she needs to survive. Yeah, she killed a man(with reason) but Yelena only fights back when she has to do it to live. What makes Yelena strong is that she bounces back and she’s smart. She is strong without being physically strong. Yelena is vulnerable and she isn’t some crazed killer, she is just a normal person who got stuck in a bad situation and is trying her best to survive.

“Trusting is hard. Knowing who to trust, even harder.”

― Maria V. Snyder

Pros

  • A lot of books start with the romance as soon as they can. While Maria starts off with chemistry between the characters and you can see where she is going to go with it, the characters themselves aren’t pining after each other throughout the whole book. It’s a slow builds with each of their interactions, like a normal relationship would between to people who weren’t looking for one.
  • Valek. He is just a really good character. He comes off as a little cold at first but it is shown very quickly that he isn’t. He is actually really nice and sweet. He just comes off cold because if he doesn’t know you or feels that he can’t trust you he feels that you are a danger to the Commander. The only times he actually gets angry at Yelena is when something happens to or with the Commander, otherwise he helps her out.
  • How Yelena handles her past. Why Yelena killed that man, the true reason, is what made me see Yelena stronger then I already did. Through the book you can tell something happened to Yelena, and based on how she talked about them, you could assume it had to do with a torture like situation. I had figured that they had hurt her but not in the way that they did. I think that Yelena handles herself very well and in a way most people wouldn’t after that. I loved everything about how Yelena handled it from the moment it happened to her. Also while it is a part of her character it doesn’t define her, she doesn’t let it.
  • A surprise LGBT character that isn’t in there just to have one.

 

Con

  • It’s really hard for me to find a flaw in this. I’m searching for it deep in my head,  but one of the only ones I can really think of was when the romance did happen it happened fast. They talked about it for a few seconds and then a lot happened really fast. It did seem like a little awkward pacing.
  • If you are an action fan this does not have a lot of it. It is only the first book so in the others there might be more. But the action in this never lasted long, it was very quick and done.

“Everyone makes choices in life. Some bad, some good. It’s called living, and if you want to bow out, then go right ahead. But don’t do it halfway. Don’t linger in whiner’s limbo.”

― Maria V. Snyder

This is my favorite type of book so for me personally it is hard to see fault with it. I like adventure type stories with assassins, castles, spies, and cold characters going soft. So for me this was a book I was very happy to find because this is the type of story I’m always looking for. It actually makes me scared to start the second book because I don’t want it to be so different from the first. If you liked Morgan Rhodes’ Falling Kingdoms series, or Maria V Snyder’s other series that she made, then I would try this one.

“What have I earned from you, Valek? Loyalty? Respect? Trust?”

“You have my attention. But give me what I want, and you can have everything.”

― Maria V. Snyder