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a_j_torres0's reviews
52 reviews
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This is a Young Adult Dystopian novel Book 1.
Ok, reread complete, and as before, I only found the book ok. I wasn't really a fan of Katniss, I didn't care about Peeta Mellark. The world was frustrating and annoying, and the story itself was just, okay, but the action scenes in the book was good. Enjoyed those scenes for a bit. However, because I just don't care about this book, I decided to not continue rereading this trilogy. I have books in my TBR I really want to read so I will just donate my trilogy to the library and move on. If I ever feel like I want to continue, I can just rent the books from my library.
Ok, reread complete, and as before, I only found the book ok. I wasn't really a fan of Katniss, I didn't care about Peeta Mellark. The world was frustrating and annoying, and the story itself was just, okay, but the action scenes in the book was good. Enjoyed those scenes for a bit. However, because I just don't care about this book, I decided to not continue rereading this trilogy. I have books in my TBR I really want to read so I will just donate my trilogy to the library and move on. If I ever feel like I want to continue, I can just rent the books from my library.
Reactive by Becky Moynihan
4.0
This is a Young Adult/New Adult Dystopian/Romance novel book 1.
Book Cover: 4* - I like seeing the main character on book covers. Full bodied or half bodied, nothing less, showing me who they are or might become. I'm giving this category 4 stars because setting wise it didn't really tell me anything about the story. It's just a green sky with a silhouette of a forest behind her. It's still a cool, well done, and bad ass cover none the less.
Summary/Tagline: 4* - I REALLY like the tagline for this book. "You always have a choice." To me it's like a punch in the face to all the fictional characters who say, "I didn't have a choice.", and the main character tries to live by that for the most part. Now as for the summary, I like it, but it didn't grab me like the tagline did. I was curious about why the main character wants out of the city she lives in. I also figured that the boy mentioned in the summary was going to become a love interest, regardless of whatever he may have done in the past. You'll find out what I mean in the next category.
Characters: 3.5* - The character we follow throughout the book is Lune Tatum/Avery, adoptive daughter to the Supreme Elite/leader/caretaker of Tatum city where she lives. I do like Lune, but there are a few issues I have with her character. I like that she is determined and dedicated, but largely flawed(in a good way). Because of this society, she doesn't trust anyone, finds weakness to be a problem, has no friends(except for Asher, which I wish I got to see more of to better form an opinion on, because he was a sweet character). Sadly, like myself, she keeps everything bottled up inside until it explodes out like a raging inferno, which I don't like. Lune's other problem for me is when things don't go her way, she blames everyone else but herself, Brendan especially. She also has a bad habit of reminding the reader of how tall and handsome her love interest is, which started to grind on me really fast. I really hope Lune gets better with expressing herself more healthily and will be capable of trusting people in future books. Brendan Bearon, her trainee, her past kidnapper, and love interest, actually wants to and tries to be her friend, asks her to open up to him so he can help her, even though it seems he doesn't/hasn't fully grasped what kind of society he is in. Brendan is also my fave character in this book. He's sweet, caring, and the s*** that comes out of his mouth, *MUAH!* is pure gold. He has a lot of great quotes that I wrote down lol. Now for Antagonists, we have Lune's adoptive father, Renold Tatum, and his blood daughter, Rose Tatum. Both are horrendous people. We don't actually see much of them in this book, but when we do I just want Lune to take her gold daggers and stick the blades right in their necks(Intended hate for antagonists achieved) . . . too graphic? Lol, anyway, I don't fully understand these 2 and their motives towards Lune. Renold has an obsession of loyalty and controlling people and Rose just seems to hate Lune. I'm sure we will get more of Renold's motives in later books, but I was just getting frustrated at the many questions I kept asking when Lune is alone with the a** but never got answers. Why Lune? Why only be strict and punish her in torturing manners? Why not also treat your daughter the same way? I have a guess that Renold actually doesn't pay that much attention to Rose and I feel like he only sees her as a nuisance, though this is never stated, at least from what I read. I think his negligence of Rose goats her into taking out her jealousy on Lune, which causes Lune to attack her. Rose then happily reports Lune's aggression to Renold which causes Lune to be punished, violently. Again, I'm sure it will be explained more in later books, but I wanted those answers sooner than later. There are other characters, some vile and one curious case, but nothing noteworthy enough to mention at the moment.
World Building: 2* - Now this is a dystopian novel, so something big must've happened to bring down society to what Lune is living in now. What is it? I have no idea. All I know is that something silent and deadly swept over the world, which I believe was 3+ generations ago. There are now monstrous creatures and/or mutated version of normal animals in the world. One I never thought I'd want one of my own is a charger, which is a carnivorous horse. Yeah, you read that right, carnivorous horses, how cool is that? Tatum City history is not well established in my opinion. There is no religion, yet words like Hell, God, Angels, and Demons are thrown around as if Christianity/Catholicism is a thing, which I don't think it is. My other issue is that books are banned/illegal in this society. Why? It does insinuate that it will spark inspiration, dream, and rebellion, which, yeah okay I can get behind that logic, problem is, NO books are allowed. So I can’t help but wonder how this society knows how to make paper for contracts or how people know how to read and write. There also exists crazy high-tech stuff like a massive electric wall and machines that imitate the mutated monsters residing outside of Tatum city. Without books I don’t see how they are able to build and maintain such tech, but I figured this sort of thing is a staple of Dystopian stories, so I went with it. Many things are purposely kept buried by the Supreme Elite so that people will obey and never question their way of life. This is fine, but I feel like it would have made more sense if specific books were approved by the Supreme Elite and made available to the people, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Lune is supposed to be in the same boat as everyone else in regard to knowledge, but she knows what outside things like mermaids and pirates are with no explanation? She could have heard these things from her mom, but it just wasn’t clarified. There is a thing called the Elite Trials, which are 3 different trials that, if won, will place you in great standing in society, which is something people strive to achieve. Attempting to win at least one of these trials will earn you a title and the status of Elite. Basically, Elites are the rich and the poor are the village people. I like the idea and all, but it feels a little reminiscent of The Hunger Games. It seems like the only purpose in life is to either serve the Elites or train for years until you are ready to attempt to win the trials. It just feels a little unrealistic or black and white. I’d like to think humans wouldn’t be that easy to subjugate.
Story: 3.5* - The story is very focused. Light spoilers for the first few chapters follow. Lune is basically forced by her adoptive father to become an Instructor, instead of earning the position properly by winning a Trial. She trains a man, Brendan, for the Elite Trials who she suspects aided in her kidnapping 11 years ago, before the story starts. The trials will take place in 4 to 6 months(Time flies). Brendan is contracted to do all 3 trials like her, making him her competition. Lune starts out hating/despising him, but as time goes by, she ends up liking him, begrudgingly lol. A slow romance ensues, but there were times it really wore on me. “I can't do this, I shouldn't. I won't trust him, I can't.” Lune repeats this process a lot, and I get it to an extent. With this society and what she suspects him of doing, she shouldn't like nor trust him. My problem is that aside from her suspicion, Brendan shows her no cause not to trust him, and clearly wants to tell her things, but something prevents him from doing so. Lune refuses to see it which grated on me at times. The two training together was some of my favorite scenes throughout the entire book. They are corny, witty, and just down right funny, until they get deep which caused really sweet moments. Throughout this story we also learn that the other trainees alongside Lune hate her, vehemently, and it’s made worse by Renold when he makes her an instructor prematurely. We come to learn why, in a way, I just found it weird that she never gains a SINGLE friend in the Training Facility, not one. Lune, throughout this story has a massive target on her back because of her adoptive father.
Over All: 4* - All in all, I give this 4 stars. I like the characters and the story, I just want answers and Lune to be a better person in the next book, I think I really need her to be. There is also something else I left out in the story category, but that is because I wasn't sure if it should go in there. I think, like with the animals, that humans are also evolving with powers? Why? How? That is purposely left a mystery I'm sure. To know what I mean, just pick up the book. I'm sure we aren't meant to know until a later book, probably(hopefully) the 2nd one I'm assuming. I look forward to finding out that part. Also, this is probably the cleanest dystopian story I have ever read. Yes there is blood in this book, but it isn't gory, and the closest we ever get to cursing is Lune replacing every curse word with the word “stars”. I think that is weird but cute lol. Well, although the main character is 18 years old, I think teenagers will have fun reading this book and enjoy it. I suggest picking this up and giving it a try, especially if you are a fan of The Hunger Games.
Book Cover: 4* - I like seeing the main character on book covers. Full bodied or half bodied, nothing less, showing me who they are or might become. I'm giving this category 4 stars because setting wise it didn't really tell me anything about the story. It's just a green sky with a silhouette of a forest behind her. It's still a cool, well done, and bad ass cover none the less.
Summary/Tagline: 4* - I REALLY like the tagline for this book. "You always have a choice." To me it's like a punch in the face to all the fictional characters who say, "I didn't have a choice.", and the main character tries to live by that for the most part. Now as for the summary, I like it, but it didn't grab me like the tagline did. I was curious about why the main character wants out of the city she lives in. I also figured that the boy mentioned in the summary was going to become a love interest, regardless of whatever he may have done in the past. You'll find out what I mean in the next category.
Characters: 3.5* - The character we follow throughout the book is Lune Tatum/Avery, adoptive daughter to the Supreme Elite/leader/caretaker of Tatum city where she lives. I do like Lune, but there are a few issues I have with her character. I like that she is determined and dedicated, but largely flawed(in a good way). Because of this society, she doesn't trust anyone, finds weakness to be a problem, has no friends(except for Asher, which I wish I got to see more of to better form an opinion on, because he was a sweet character). Sadly, like myself, she keeps everything bottled up inside until it explodes out like a raging inferno, which I don't like. Lune's other problem for me is when things don't go her way, she blames everyone else but herself, Brendan especially. She also has a bad habit of reminding the reader of how tall and handsome her love interest is, which started to grind on me really fast. I really hope Lune gets better with expressing herself more healthily and will be capable of trusting people in future books. Brendan Bearon, her trainee, her past kidnapper, and love interest, actually wants to and tries to be her friend, asks her to open up to him so he can help her, even though it seems he doesn't/hasn't fully grasped what kind of society he is in. Brendan is also my fave character in this book. He's sweet, caring, and the s*** that comes out of his mouth, *MUAH!* is pure gold. He has a lot of great quotes that I wrote down lol. Now for Antagonists, we have Lune's adoptive father, Renold Tatum, and his blood daughter, Rose Tatum. Both are horrendous people. We don't actually see much of them in this book, but when we do I just want Lune to take her gold daggers and stick the blades right in their necks(Intended hate for antagonists achieved) . . . too graphic? Lol, anyway, I don't fully understand these 2 and their motives towards Lune. Renold has an obsession of loyalty and controlling people and Rose just seems to hate Lune. I'm sure we will get more of Renold's motives in later books, but I was just getting frustrated at the many questions I kept asking when Lune is alone with the a** but never got answers. Why Lune? Why only be strict and punish her in torturing manners? Why not also treat your daughter the same way? I have a guess that Renold actually doesn't pay that much attention to Rose and I feel like he only sees her as a nuisance, though this is never stated, at least from what I read. I think his negligence of Rose goats her into taking out her jealousy on Lune, which causes Lune to attack her. Rose then happily reports Lune's aggression to Renold which causes Lune to be punished, violently. Again, I'm sure it will be explained more in later books, but I wanted those answers sooner than later. There are other characters, some vile and one curious case, but nothing noteworthy enough to mention at the moment.
World Building: 2* - Now this is a dystopian novel, so something big must've happened to bring down society to what Lune is living in now. What is it? I have no idea. All I know is that something silent and deadly swept over the world, which I believe was 3+ generations ago. There are now monstrous creatures and/or mutated version of normal animals in the world. One I never thought I'd want one of my own is a charger, which is a carnivorous horse. Yeah, you read that right, carnivorous horses, how cool is that? Tatum City history is not well established in my opinion. There is no religion, yet words like Hell, God, Angels, and Demons are thrown around as if Christianity/Catholicism is a thing, which I don't think it is. My other issue is that books are banned/illegal in this society. Why? It does insinuate that it will spark inspiration, dream, and rebellion, which, yeah okay I can get behind that logic, problem is, NO books are allowed. So I can’t help but wonder how this society knows how to make paper for contracts or how people know how to read and write. There also exists crazy high-tech stuff like a massive electric wall and machines that imitate the mutated monsters residing outside of Tatum city. Without books I don’t see how they are able to build and maintain such tech, but I figured this sort of thing is a staple of Dystopian stories, so I went with it. Many things are purposely kept buried by the Supreme Elite so that people will obey and never question their way of life. This is fine, but I feel like it would have made more sense if specific books were approved by the Supreme Elite and made available to the people, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Lune is supposed to be in the same boat as everyone else in regard to knowledge, but she knows what outside things like mermaids and pirates are with no explanation? She could have heard these things from her mom, but it just wasn’t clarified. There is a thing called the Elite Trials, which are 3 different trials that, if won, will place you in great standing in society, which is something people strive to achieve. Attempting to win at least one of these trials will earn you a title and the status of Elite. Basically, Elites are the rich and the poor are the village people. I like the idea and all, but it feels a little reminiscent of The Hunger Games. It seems like the only purpose in life is to either serve the Elites or train for years until you are ready to attempt to win the trials. It just feels a little unrealistic or black and white. I’d like to think humans wouldn’t be that easy to subjugate.
Story: 3.5* - The story is very focused. Light spoilers for the first few chapters follow. Lune is basically forced by her adoptive father to become an Instructor, instead of earning the position properly by winning a Trial. She trains a man, Brendan, for the Elite Trials who she suspects aided in her kidnapping 11 years ago, before the story starts. The trials will take place in 4 to 6 months(Time flies). Brendan is contracted to do all 3 trials like her, making him her competition. Lune starts out hating/despising him, but as time goes by, she ends up liking him, begrudgingly lol. A slow romance ensues, but there were times it really wore on me. “I can't do this, I shouldn't. I won't trust him, I can't.” Lune repeats this process a lot, and I get it to an extent. With this society and what she suspects him of doing, she shouldn't like nor trust him. My problem is that aside from her suspicion, Brendan shows her no cause not to trust him, and clearly wants to tell her things, but something prevents him from doing so. Lune refuses to see it which grated on me at times. The two training together was some of my favorite scenes throughout the entire book. They are corny, witty, and just down right funny, until they get deep which caused really sweet moments. Throughout this story we also learn that the other trainees alongside Lune hate her, vehemently, and it’s made worse by Renold when he makes her an instructor prematurely. We come to learn why, in a way, I just found it weird that she never gains a SINGLE friend in the Training Facility, not one. Lune, throughout this story has a massive target on her back because of her adoptive father.
Over All: 4* - All in all, I give this 4 stars. I like the characters and the story, I just want answers and Lune to be a better person in the next book, I think I really need her to be. There is also something else I left out in the story category, but that is because I wasn't sure if it should go in there. I think, like with the animals, that humans are also evolving with powers? Why? How? That is purposely left a mystery I'm sure. To know what I mean, just pick up the book. I'm sure we aren't meant to know until a later book, probably(hopefully) the 2nd one I'm assuming. I look forward to finding out that part. Also, this is probably the cleanest dystopian story I have ever read. Yes there is blood in this book, but it isn't gory, and the closest we ever get to cursing is Lune replacing every curse word with the word “stars”. I think that is weird but cute lol. Well, although the main character is 18 years old, I think teenagers will have fun reading this book and enjoy it. I suggest picking this up and giving it a try, especially if you are a fan of The Hunger Games.
The Savior's Champion by Jenna Moreci
4.0
This is a New Adult/Adult Dark Fantasy/Romance novel book 1.
Ok, before I start this review, I have to say that there were quite a bit of questions left unanswered by the end, mainly from the love interest known as Leila, but because the 2nd novel in the series is the companion novel completely set in her perspective, I will try and focus this book solely on the views of the main character Tobias. Here we go.
Book Cover: 4* - I like the cover, I think it helps set the tone of the book, definitely no lie there. I have an idea on who the bloodied character on the cover is, because of the hairstyle I don't think it's the main character Tobias but an antagonist named Kaleo. Who are they you ask? You will have to wait and see. The bloody hand prints also help give the cover quite an ominous feel, it did make me wonder what it all meant.
Summary/Tagline: 5* - I. LOVE. This tag line: Respect the labyrinth. Obey the labyrinth. This helps further set the tone for me. It made me wonder what this whole labyrinth deal was and what kind of person the Savior is. Is she ruthless? Demanding? I was hooked. Now onto the summary. I think it was pretty straightforward, main character is down on his luck, his family is struggling to survive, and all though he doesn't give 2 s**** about his Queen(Also Savior), he knows that fighting in The Sovereign's Tournament for her hand in marriage is the only way to save his family from poverty. Sadly, he finds that the tournament is a lot worse and terrifying than he thought. See, pretty straightforward lol.
Characters: 4* - Ok, sadly I was not 100% on board with Tobias in the beginning. I didn't hate him, I just felt nothing towards him until his love interest Leila comes in the picture. I see that he was caring towards his twin sister Naomi who is paralyzed from the waist down and his mom, but I started seeing more of him when he is with Leila, he's sweet, corny(In the best way possible), patient, gentle, etc. However, I did have a serious eye roll moment when he had to create a gift for the Savior for one of the challenges, he's an artist, he can draw and paint . . . Why is it in every romance story that has a character that is an artist, they unconsciously draw the person they are falling for instead of the person they are meant to draw while looking at the damn paper? I draw, my husband draws, I have friends who draw, and none of us have ever done that. We know what we want to draw and we draw it, there is no, "Oh man I drew the wrong thing!" . . . Again we are looking at the paper so we would know if we are drawing the wrong thing. Also, for a guy who is in this stupid tournament for his family, he only thinks of them, IF HE SEES THEM IN THE STANDS! I mean come on, friends are dying around you but his only light in that dark cesspit of a tournament is Leila, no one else . . . Really? Anyway, It took me a bit to actually care for him. Now onto the love interest Leila, I effing love this girl. She's spunky, straightforward, and an all around bad ass both with actions and words, I just wished she trusted and gave Tobias more credit with telling him her secret and plans from the beginning lol. Cosima, the Savior, the Queen . . . Is an uncaring, insensitive, indifferent b**** with her head up her own a**. Men are literally dying for her and she doesn't care. Now onto Cosima's father Brontes, the Sovereign, the King . . . He's a power hungry piece of s***, I EFFING hate him. You'll see what I mean when you read the book, he's one of the antagonists. Other antagonists also include Kaleo, Drake, and Antaeus. Kaleo makes my skin crawl sometimes, but that is all he's got going from me, as for the others . . . Well I mean they are there. There are loads of other characters, some I like, others I feel like I need to slap them upside their heads, and then there are those that I feel like, well . . . they are there lol. There are a lot of characters in this book.
World Building: 2* - I was very, VERY disappointed with the world building. It kind of feels like it's non existent. It doesn't help that I'm aware that the author doesn't care to set scenes, and it is apparent in her writing because her scene settings feel very rushed. Now as for the world, I only know the city of Thessen, where the story takes place, is supposed to be Greek/Roman inspired, but there is nothing in the environment that proves that. I only know it's supposed to be Greek/Roman inspired because of an image on the back cover of the book is a Greek/Roman city and concepts of some of the characters are seen on the author's website in Greek/Roman fashion, but that's it. I know there is specific architecture and fashion styles in the Greek/Roman style but the author didn't utilize that. When I was reading the book, most of the time the characters are just floating in a dark void because I wasn't able to properly picture the world. Religion . . . I don't know if there is one. I know christian terms such as God and Hell get thrown around, but I don't know who or what the people of Thessen worship. Again, I'm only aware that the Savior is a literal gift from God, whoever that is, from the author, not the book, and that she is the only one who can do magic and that she is able to lend people her abilities. I don't know how her abilities work, who their "God" is, what their religion system is like, etc. I could get more of that in the companion novel, but for now I will have to knock points off for lack of information. Citizens . . . Apparently the people of Thessen are diverse . . . I think. I only say I think because it's not like it's ever stated what they look like unless there is something notable on their bodies. Flynn is one of the contestants in The Sovereign's Tournament, and from the concept on the author's website, he's of Asian decent . . . It is never stated in the book. I know there are other countries around Thessen, and I know some of what they are or could be like. but if Thessen is supposed to be diverse, I'm not seeing much cultural difference around the city before Tobias get's trapped in the tournament. If you are making up a world for your book, then explain what the world is like, I'm not saying stop and info dump, but if your character is walking down the street then let me see what they see, hear what they hear, etc.
Story: 4* - I thought the story was fun and thrilling. There are dark turns and deceit around almost every corner. The challenges in the tournament put me at the edge of my seat. I was worried for Tobias for a while, even though I was sure he would make it regardless because he's the main character lol. I do have quite a lot of eye roll moments when the word c****, b****, and f*** is thrown out of characters mouths almost for no reason, but I do eventually get used to it. The romance is sweet, heartwarming, and OH MY EFFING GOD! It's a healthy romance, no masculine aggression, no listen to me I'm the man bulls***, no I'm the woman who doesn't need a man so I'm going to drag this penis having man around until he knows I'm better than him . . . As you can see I much prefer healthy romances, not abusive/obsessive ones. Also, there is a twist towards the end of the book that I . . . accidentally saw coming without meaning to. What I mean is, when Tobias had his first fight to the death, I jokingly thought, "Oh what if this moment happened." . . . I'm trying to keep things spoiler free lol, anyway, when the moment actually happened towards the end of the book I was like, "WHAT THE HELL I WAS JOKING!" Lol but I definitely enjoyed the surprise. I also felt that Chapter 27 out of 28 was rushed compared to other chapters with the challenges, I didn't feel as thrilled and terrified for Tobias as previous challenges have made me feel. Other than that, I did highly enjoy the story.
Audiobook: 4* - The narrator did a wonderful job telling the story of Tobias forcing himself to enter The Sovereign's Tournament, not to win the heart of his country's queen the Savior, but to help his family out of poverty, at least while he is able to survive the challenges of the tournament first. The narrator was good at giving me a variety of voices, but eventually they do blend together towards the end there as the characters are taken out one by one, but that's to be expected as a voice actor can only do so much with their voice. Now, although this is a dark fantasy/romance story, I don't know if it was because I was listening instead of reading it myself this time around, but some scenes/moments in the book, got pretty cringey, mainly what the main character was thinking about when it came to looking at either his love interests body or the Savior's, but only some as the narrator was wonderful when it comes to the romance scenes, however I think I loved the more emotional scenes where Tobias was angry, upset, frustrated, and/or sad, BUT I think the narrator needs work on his panic/frantic scenes. When the main character was ever scared or terrified, the narrator just sounded monotoned instead throughout the scenes, which caused me to falter my attention span a bit. Although just a few issues here and there, if you enjoy a dark fantasy story that is heavy on the romance, a HEALTHY romance, then I would recommend you give this story a try before the companion novel, The Savior's Sisters, comes out either later this year or next.(Audio Review Came Much Later Than Reading Review)
Over All: 4* - Over all, I give this book 4 stars. The book is dark, thrilling, and a change of pace for me, BUT! But, but, but, if you are looking for a fantasy novel with an expansive world and magic system, then sadly this isn't for you, however, if you are looking for a simple fantasy story that is thrilling, gory, with a heartwarming romance, then please give this book a try. I highly enjoyed The Savior's Champion and definitely look forward to the companion novel, The Savior's Sisters. Plus, I will also recommend the audiobook version if you more of a listener than a reader. If you want a test run of the book you can read the first 3ch on the author's website, go check it out to see if it's right up your alley.
Ok, before I start this review, I have to say that there were quite a bit of questions left unanswered by the end, mainly from the love interest known as Leila, but because the 2nd novel in the series is the companion novel completely set in her perspective, I will try and focus this book solely on the views of the main character Tobias. Here we go.
Book Cover: 4* - I like the cover, I think it helps set the tone of the book, definitely no lie there. I have an idea on who the bloodied character on the cover is, because of the hairstyle I don't think it's the main character Tobias but an antagonist named Kaleo. Who are they you ask? You will have to wait and see. The bloody hand prints also help give the cover quite an ominous feel, it did make me wonder what it all meant.
Summary/Tagline: 5* - I. LOVE. This tag line: Respect the labyrinth. Obey the labyrinth. This helps further set the tone for me. It made me wonder what this whole labyrinth deal was and what kind of person the Savior is. Is she ruthless? Demanding? I was hooked. Now onto the summary. I think it was pretty straightforward, main character is down on his luck, his family is struggling to survive, and all though he doesn't give 2 s**** about his Queen(Also Savior), he knows that fighting in The Sovereign's Tournament for her hand in marriage is the only way to save his family from poverty. Sadly, he finds that the tournament is a lot worse and terrifying than he thought. See, pretty straightforward lol.
Characters: 4* - Ok, sadly I was not 100% on board with Tobias in the beginning. I didn't hate him, I just felt nothing towards him until his love interest Leila comes in the picture. I see that he was caring towards his twin sister Naomi who is paralyzed from the waist down and his mom, but I started seeing more of him when he is with Leila, he's sweet, corny(In the best way possible), patient, gentle, etc. However, I did have a serious eye roll moment when he had to create a gift for the Savior for one of the challenges, he's an artist, he can draw and paint . . . Why is it in every romance story that has a character that is an artist, they unconsciously draw the person they are falling for instead of the person they are meant to draw while looking at the damn paper? I draw, my husband draws, I have friends who draw, and none of us have ever done that. We know what we want to draw and we draw it, there is no, "Oh man I drew the wrong thing!" . . . Again we are looking at the paper so we would know if we are drawing the wrong thing. Also, for a guy who is in this stupid tournament for his family, he only thinks of them, IF HE SEES THEM IN THE STANDS! I mean come on, friends are dying around you but his only light in that dark cesspit of a tournament is Leila, no one else . . . Really? Anyway, It took me a bit to actually care for him. Now onto the love interest Leila, I effing love this girl. She's spunky, straightforward, and an all around bad ass both with actions and words, I just wished she trusted and gave Tobias more credit with telling him her secret and plans from the beginning lol. Cosima, the Savior, the Queen . . . Is an uncaring, insensitive, indifferent b**** with her head up her own a**. Men are literally dying for her and she doesn't care. Now onto Cosima's father Brontes, the Sovereign, the King . . . He's a power hungry piece of s***, I EFFING hate him. You'll see what I mean when you read the book, he's one of the antagonists. Other antagonists also include Kaleo, Drake, and Antaeus. Kaleo makes my skin crawl sometimes, but that is all he's got going from me, as for the others . . . Well I mean they are there. There are loads of other characters, some I like, others I feel like I need to slap them upside their heads, and then there are those that I feel like, well . . . they are there lol. There are a lot of characters in this book.
World Building: 2* - I was very, VERY disappointed with the world building. It kind of feels like it's non existent. It doesn't help that I'm aware that the author doesn't care to set scenes, and it is apparent in her writing because her scene settings feel very rushed. Now as for the world, I only know the city of Thessen, where the story takes place, is supposed to be Greek/Roman inspired, but there is nothing in the environment that proves that. I only know it's supposed to be Greek/Roman inspired because of an image on the back cover of the book is a Greek/Roman city and concepts of some of the characters are seen on the author's website in Greek/Roman fashion, but that's it. I know there is specific architecture and fashion styles in the Greek/Roman style but the author didn't utilize that. When I was reading the book, most of the time the characters are just floating in a dark void because I wasn't able to properly picture the world. Religion . . . I don't know if there is one. I know christian terms such as God and Hell get thrown around, but I don't know who or what the people of Thessen worship. Again, I'm only aware that the Savior is a literal gift from God, whoever that is, from the author, not the book, and that she is the only one who can do magic and that she is able to lend people her abilities. I don't know how her abilities work, who their "God" is, what their religion system is like, etc. I could get more of that in the companion novel, but for now I will have to knock points off for lack of information. Citizens . . . Apparently the people of Thessen are diverse . . . I think. I only say I think because it's not like it's ever stated what they look like unless there is something notable on their bodies. Flynn is one of the contestants in The Sovereign's Tournament, and from the concept on the author's website, he's of Asian decent . . . It is never stated in the book. I know there are other countries around Thessen, and I know some of what they are or could be like. but if Thessen is supposed to be diverse, I'm not seeing much cultural difference around the city before Tobias get's trapped in the tournament. If you are making up a world for your book, then explain what the world is like, I'm not saying stop and info dump, but if your character is walking down the street then let me see what they see, hear what they hear, etc.
Story: 4* - I thought the story was fun and thrilling. There are dark turns and deceit around almost every corner. The challenges in the tournament put me at the edge of my seat. I was worried for Tobias for a while, even though I was sure he would make it regardless because he's the main character lol. I do have quite a lot of eye roll moments when the word c****, b****, and f*** is thrown out of characters mouths almost for no reason, but I do eventually get used to it. The romance is sweet, heartwarming, and OH MY EFFING GOD! It's a healthy romance, no masculine aggression, no listen to me I'm the man bulls***, no I'm the woman who doesn't need a man so I'm going to drag this penis having man around until he knows I'm better than him . . . As you can see I much prefer healthy romances, not abusive/obsessive ones. Also, there is a twist towards the end of the book that I . . . accidentally saw coming without meaning to. What I mean is, when Tobias had his first fight to the death, I jokingly thought, "Oh what if this moment happened." . . . I'm trying to keep things spoiler free lol, anyway, when the moment actually happened towards the end of the book I was like, "WHAT THE HELL I WAS JOKING!" Lol but I definitely enjoyed the surprise. I also felt that Chapter 27 out of 28 was rushed compared to other chapters with the challenges, I didn't feel as thrilled and terrified for Tobias as previous challenges have made me feel. Other than that, I did highly enjoy the story.
Audiobook: 4* - The narrator did a wonderful job telling the story of Tobias forcing himself to enter The Sovereign's Tournament, not to win the heart of his country's queen the Savior, but to help his family out of poverty, at least while he is able to survive the challenges of the tournament first. The narrator was good at giving me a variety of voices, but eventually they do blend together towards the end there as the characters are taken out one by one, but that's to be expected as a voice actor can only do so much with their voice. Now, although this is a dark fantasy/romance story, I don't know if it was because I was listening instead of reading it myself this time around, but some scenes/moments in the book, got pretty cringey, mainly what the main character was thinking about when it came to looking at either his love interests body or the Savior's, but only some as the narrator was wonderful when it comes to the romance scenes, however I think I loved the more emotional scenes where Tobias was angry, upset, frustrated, and/or sad, BUT I think the narrator needs work on his panic/frantic scenes. When the main character was ever scared or terrified, the narrator just sounded monotoned instead throughout the scenes, which caused me to falter my attention span a bit. Although just a few issues here and there, if you enjoy a dark fantasy story that is heavy on the romance, a HEALTHY romance, then I would recommend you give this story a try before the companion novel, The Savior's Sisters, comes out either later this year or next.(Audio Review Came Much Later Than Reading Review)
Over All: 4* - Over all, I give this book 4 stars. The book is dark, thrilling, and a change of pace for me, BUT! But, but, but, if you are looking for a fantasy novel with an expansive world and magic system, then sadly this isn't for you, however, if you are looking for a simple fantasy story that is thrilling, gory, with a heartwarming romance, then please give this book a try. I highly enjoyed The Savior's Champion and definitely look forward to the companion novel, The Savior's Sisters. Plus, I will also recommend the audiobook version if you more of a listener than a reader. If you want a test run of the book you can read the first 3ch on the author's website, go check it out to see if it's right up your alley.
The Inquisition by Taran Matharu
4.0
This is a Young Adult Epic Fantasy novel book 2.
Book Cover: 4* - Okay the covers just got better but for some reason we are still sticking to the one shade of a color, this time it's green lol. I do like the jungle background but at least add some brown or something to break up the single color thing lol. Fletcher looks great as always with Ignatius on his back.
Summary/Tagline: 3* - Again the summary is pretty straightforward. Fletcher is in trouble as danger is right at his kingdoms doorstep. However I feel like the summary may have also shown that Fletcher will be safe from the trial part, just read the last paragraph of the summary and you'll know what I mean lol.
Characters: 4* - Although Fletcher is still my bae in this book the other characters are still about the same with not much improvement but I feel the priorities in this book have gotten worse. Orcs are kicking these peoples asses but for some reason a villain and pompous nobles need to stop to pick fights with dwarves and elves because they aren't humans and we don't like them and they all need to die and we don't need them even though fighting 3 DIFFERENT WARS WILL BE A PROBLEM! Gagh! A new villain presents himself but here is the thing, it wasn't surprising and I didn't care. This character showed up a few times when Fletcher first came to Vocan Academy in Book 1 but then he disappeared for the rest of the book, suddenly he comes back for this book feeling a little better then before but again all ways disappeared when the danger showed up so his betrayal wasn't at all surprising, just disappointing. We also get to learn a little bit about Sylva but her family issue is glossed over so fast as if it wasn't remotely important. She has an older sister, killed her mother so she can be chief of the elves but is found out and exiled by her father which makes Sylva next in line and that's it . . . oh come on you just exiled someone who really wanted that throne and you are just going to end it there!? When someone wants something they will stop at nothing to get it, I'm just saying. Also orcs are presented as pretty OP in this book but don't really give the main characters much of a problem, sort of.
World Building: 3* - Okay the world building is only a little better, just a little. We learn a bit more of the orcs in this book but, and this is a heavy but, we also learn about elves . . . BARELY! After the trial Fletcher is taken to the elves and we learn about the King's situation with his court and his greedy father, shocking . . . With the elves there are Forest Elves that live on the ground and High Elves that live atop the trees . . . really? Both elvish races are also not allowed to be together in anyway romantically, if they are caught then they are exiled which is very stupid because they live with each other as equals minus the live on the ground and live atop trees part. Nothing was ever shown any issues that these two races have to have such laws placed.
Story: 3* - As I said for the last book, the story was still very much predictable until I get to the very end, not the one with the villain but after. It has to do with Fletcher's mother which surprised the hell out of me. Speaking of which, at the end of book 1 Fletcher get's arrested. At the beginning of this book there is a trial and new info is presented to us. Again the outcome was predictable because Fletcher is the MC and I wasn't really worried for him which is sad, I should be but I wasn't. 2 things would have happened, either Fletcher get's broken out or his lineage is identified and tested, guess which one happens? I won't say because spoilers lol. However, a new issue was presented by the author, although he is fine with writing gore he is not great with killing off characters as he kills them off page and we return to them all ready dead. I'm not saying if you are going to kill a character then write it but the character was very minor so I didn't feel for them, like at all.
Over All: 4* - I think I will continue giving these books 4 stars because of Fletcher but I really, really hope for this authors next series that he gets better with story and world building, I really, really do hope for this author.
Book Cover: 4* - Okay the covers just got better but for some reason we are still sticking to the one shade of a color, this time it's green lol. I do like the jungle background but at least add some brown or something to break up the single color thing lol. Fletcher looks great as always with Ignatius on his back.
Summary/Tagline: 3* - Again the summary is pretty straightforward. Fletcher is in trouble as danger is right at his kingdoms doorstep. However I feel like the summary may have also shown that Fletcher will be safe from the trial part, just read the last paragraph of the summary and you'll know what I mean lol.
Characters: 4* - Although Fletcher is still my bae in this book the other characters are still about the same with not much improvement but I feel the priorities in this book have gotten worse. Orcs are kicking these peoples asses but for some reason a villain and pompous nobles need to stop to pick fights with dwarves and elves because they aren't humans and we don't like them and they all need to die and we don't need them even though fighting 3 DIFFERENT WARS WILL BE A PROBLEM! Gagh! A new villain presents himself but here is the thing, it wasn't surprising and I didn't care. This character showed up a few times when Fletcher first came to Vocan Academy in Book 1 but then he disappeared for the rest of the book, suddenly he comes back for this book feeling a little better then before but again all ways disappeared when the danger showed up so his betrayal wasn't at all surprising, just disappointing. We also get to learn a little bit about Sylva but her family issue is glossed over so fast as if it wasn't remotely important. She has an older sister, killed her mother so she can be chief of the elves but is found out and exiled by her father which makes Sylva next in line and that's it . . . oh come on you just exiled someone who really wanted that throne and you are just going to end it there!? When someone wants something they will stop at nothing to get it, I'm just saying. Also orcs are presented as pretty OP in this book but don't really give the main characters much of a problem, sort of.
World Building: 3* - Okay the world building is only a little better, just a little. We learn a bit more of the orcs in this book but, and this is a heavy but, we also learn about elves . . . BARELY! After the trial Fletcher is taken to the elves and we learn about the King's situation with his court and his greedy father, shocking . . . With the elves there are Forest Elves that live on the ground and High Elves that live atop the trees . . . really? Both elvish races are also not allowed to be together in anyway romantically, if they are caught then they are exiled which is very stupid because they live with each other as equals minus the live on the ground and live atop trees part. Nothing was ever shown any issues that these two races have to have such laws placed.
Story: 3* - As I said for the last book, the story was still very much predictable until I get to the very end, not the one with the villain but after. It has to do with Fletcher's mother which surprised the hell out of me. Speaking of which, at the end of book 1 Fletcher get's arrested. At the beginning of this book there is a trial and new info is presented to us. Again the outcome was predictable because Fletcher is the MC and I wasn't really worried for him which is sad, I should be but I wasn't. 2 things would have happened, either Fletcher get's broken out or his lineage is identified and tested, guess which one happens? I won't say because spoilers lol. However, a new issue was presented by the author, although he is fine with writing gore he is not great with killing off characters as he kills them off page and we return to them all ready dead. I'm not saying if you are going to kill a character then write it but the character was very minor so I didn't feel for them, like at all.
Over All: 4* - I think I will continue giving these books 4 stars because of Fletcher but I really, really hope for this authors next series that he gets better with story and world building, I really, really do hope for this author.
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
5.0
This is a New Adult/Adult Dark Fantasy novel book 1.
Book Cover: 5* - Ok, so by this point you all know what my fave covers are, right? A cover showing me who the main character is or who they will be, and boy oh boy does this cover show me who the main character is. Not to mention the illustrated work is beautiful, creepy(in a good way), but beautiful. Hey! It sets the tone for the whole book, so, I love it.
Summary/Tagline: 5* - I only read the summary once before reading the book, but it was enough to get me hooked to what kind of story this is going to be. One of death, murder, and betrayal, and BOY did this story deliver on that. Trust me guys, this book is not for the faintest of hearts lol.
Characters: 5* - For the entire book we only have 1 POV and that is of Mia Corvere, the main character of the book. We do get a few other POVs but they are small and brief. Mia, I will proudly say, is my Queen, a badass, murdering Queen lmao. She is rarely in need of rescue, and I mean rarely, and she will proudly take charge of any dangers set before. However, she is not without a heart. She does care, even though she will deny it tooth and nail, and I love that about her. Now, my witty sarcastic shadow cat, Mister Kindly. I would love to have a lovable a** like him for a friend and never be mad when he talks lol. This shadow creature speaks his mind, even to Mia. He does care for her, and it very much shows in his tone, but if he feels that you are being dumb, he will happily let you know. Tric, oooooh man . . . I love this character. I want to talk about this character, I really do . . . but spoilers lmao. So, I will try my best. He is kind, strong, but is prone to anger easily, and very caring, even though, like Mia, he's a murder too. You know, if you are going to a school of assassins, just assume everyone has killed at least once. Now we have so much more characters in this book, but I don't want to over crowd this section . . . again lol. Just know I thought the teachers are so effing cool, creepy, or just an all around a**hole. Mia also makes friends in this school of assassins, but you will have to figure out who is really friendly, or a traitor with a nice smile.
World Building: 5* - The world building is really amazing. There are things explained in the book while the story is going, but you will also have footnotes at the bottom of the page to just go ahead and explain down there or just explain further. The religious system is superb in my opinion. The 3 suns in this fictional world is linked to the religion, the nightless days, or nevernights, egh? Egh? Lol. Anyway, how many times the suns rotate in the sky, and when the 3 will fully set to bring the darkest day/night the people have ever known. There is no moon, there is a city that lives within the bones of a God, the political system, OH MY GOD! Guys, just take my word that some serious work went into creating the world in this story, BUT! But, but, but, it is nowhere near as . . . dense as The Lord of the Rings and Inheritance Cycle, promise. Unfortunately, the footnotes at the bottom, although it was great to have, some of them don't just stay below the page, some info are so expansive that it can take half a page. After several chapters I did have to stop reading the footnotes so I can focus on the story, it was slowing my reading quite a bit every time I read them. I suggest saving reading the footnotes when you are done reading the book and then check them out after, a lot of them are quite funny too lol. Also, before I forget, the book is 3rd person limited, so we mainly know what Mia knows during the story, one especially is her power over shadows, pretty much Mister Kindly and what she is capable of doing with her own shadow. I'm sure once I get more into the series, I may get to find out more, alongside Mia,with what is up with her powers and why she has it.
Story: 5* - Boy oh BOY! Here is another book that sent me on a roller coaster ride of emotions lol. I laughed, I got angry, I balled my eyes out when - when . . . *CRIES!* I would say try not to get attached to characters, but I feel like that is an understatement . . . and hard to do lmao. Now I will admit, when I first started this book, the author's writing style threw me off because I feel like there is nothing like it. It took me some getting used to, but once I was deep into the book, I loved it. The author's flashback scenes are also very interesting. They are somewhat separate from the main story and written in italics. So you will know what is past and what is present without wondering for yourself. Also, WHOO! The sex scenes are something else entirely. *BLUSH!* There are very few of them in this book, heck, that first one in chapter 1 also wasn't anywhere near as descriptive as the later ones, but once Mia is going at it with another character, WOW! Just wow lol. I couldn't help but blush my stupid cheeks out lmao. Other than that, this story also had me at the edge of my seat. I was worried for Mia, Mister Kindly, who is a shadow creature, Tric, OMG I could barely put the book down. Just know, once you start the story, it only gets darker from there.
Over All: 5* - Over all, I love this book and I desperately want to read the next one, and I can't wait for book 3 later this year. YES! I'm already expecting to love the next book lol. Mia is a great main character with an amazing supporting cast, and minor characters are great too. The story almost always had me at the edge of my seat. In this school of assassins, no one is safe from danger, not even Mia. Trust me, she's had her fair share of maiming done to her, and they are not pretty sights to read. The world building is phenomenal and the writing sure is something(In a good way I promise lol.) All in all, I would also recommend this book to anyone who loves dark fantasy or dark stories period, BUT! But, but, but, I would not recommend this book to a first time fantasy reader. It is dark yes, and nowhere near as dense as the books I mentioned up above, but I would still place Nevernight just under them. So, I just added a new book to my fave books of all times, and I look forward to add the rest of the series to this list.
Book Cover: 5* - Ok, so by this point you all know what my fave covers are, right? A cover showing me who the main character is or who they will be, and boy oh boy does this cover show me who the main character is. Not to mention the illustrated work is beautiful, creepy(in a good way), but beautiful. Hey! It sets the tone for the whole book, so, I love it.
Summary/Tagline: 5* - I only read the summary once before reading the book, but it was enough to get me hooked to what kind of story this is going to be. One of death, murder, and betrayal, and BOY did this story deliver on that. Trust me guys, this book is not for the faintest of hearts lol.
Characters: 5* - For the entire book we only have 1 POV and that is of Mia Corvere, the main character of the book. We do get a few other POVs but they are small and brief. Mia, I will proudly say, is my Queen, a badass, murdering Queen lmao. She is rarely in need of rescue, and I mean rarely, and she will proudly take charge of any dangers set before. However, she is not without a heart. She does care, even though she will deny it tooth and nail, and I love that about her. Now, my witty sarcastic shadow cat, Mister Kindly. I would love to have a lovable a** like him for a friend and never be mad when he talks lol. This shadow creature speaks his mind, even to Mia. He does care for her, and it very much shows in his tone, but if he feels that you are being dumb, he will happily let you know. Tric, oooooh man . . . I love this character. I want to talk about this character, I really do . . . but spoilers lmao. So, I will try my best. He is kind, strong, but is prone to anger easily, and very caring, even though, like Mia, he's a murder too. You know, if you are going to a school of assassins, just assume everyone has killed at least once. Now we have so much more characters in this book, but I don't want to over crowd this section . . . again lol. Just know I thought the teachers are so effing cool, creepy, or just an all around a**hole. Mia also makes friends in this school of assassins, but you will have to figure out who is really friendly, or a traitor with a nice smile.
World Building: 5* - The world building is really amazing. There are things explained in the book while the story is going, but you will also have footnotes at the bottom of the page to just go ahead and explain down there or just explain further. The religious system is superb in my opinion. The 3 suns in this fictional world is linked to the religion, the nightless days, or nevernights, egh? Egh? Lol. Anyway, how many times the suns rotate in the sky, and when the 3 will fully set to bring the darkest day/night the people have ever known. There is no moon, there is a city that lives within the bones of a God, the political system, OH MY GOD! Guys, just take my word that some serious work went into creating the world in this story, BUT! But, but, but, it is nowhere near as . . . dense as The Lord of the Rings and Inheritance Cycle, promise. Unfortunately, the footnotes at the bottom, although it was great to have, some of them don't just stay below the page, some info are so expansive that it can take half a page. After several chapters I did have to stop reading the footnotes so I can focus on the story, it was slowing my reading quite a bit every time I read them. I suggest saving reading the footnotes when you are done reading the book and then check them out after, a lot of them are quite funny too lol. Also, before I forget, the book is 3rd person limited, so we mainly know what Mia knows during the story, one especially is her power over shadows, pretty much Mister Kindly and what she is capable of doing with her own shadow. I'm sure once I get more into the series, I may get to find out more, alongside Mia,with what is up with her powers and why she has it.
Story: 5* - Boy oh BOY! Here is another book that sent me on a roller coaster ride of emotions lol. I laughed, I got angry, I balled my eyes out when - when . . . *CRIES!* I would say try not to get attached to characters, but I feel like that is an understatement . . . and hard to do lmao. Now I will admit, when I first started this book, the author's writing style threw me off because I feel like there is nothing like it. It took me some getting used to, but once I was deep into the book, I loved it. The author's flashback scenes are also very interesting. They are somewhat separate from the main story and written in italics. So you will know what is past and what is present without wondering for yourself. Also, WHOO! The sex scenes are something else entirely. *BLUSH!* There are very few of them in this book, heck, that first one in chapter 1 also wasn't anywhere near as descriptive as the later ones, but once Mia is going at it with another character, WOW! Just wow lol. I couldn't help but blush my stupid cheeks out lmao. Other than that, this story also had me at the edge of my seat. I was worried for Mia, Mister Kindly, who is a shadow creature, Tric, OMG I could barely put the book down. Just know, once you start the story, it only gets darker from there.
Over All: 5* - Over all, I love this book and I desperately want to read the next one, and I can't wait for book 3 later this year. YES! I'm already expecting to love the next book lol. Mia is a great main character with an amazing supporting cast, and minor characters are great too. The story almost always had me at the edge of my seat. In this school of assassins, no one is safe from danger, not even Mia. Trust me, she's had her fair share of maiming done to her, and they are not pretty sights to read. The world building is phenomenal and the writing sure is something(In a good way I promise lol.) All in all, I would also recommend this book to anyone who loves dark fantasy or dark stories period, BUT! But, but, but, I would not recommend this book to a first time fantasy reader. It is dark yes, and nowhere near as dense as the books I mentioned up above, but I would still place Nevernight just under them. So, I just added a new book to my fave books of all times, and I look forward to add the rest of the series to this list.
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
2.0
Twilight is a Young Adult Supernatural/Paranormal Romance novel, book 1 in the series. I DNFed the book about 50% in.
Book Cover: 1* - Honestly I don't get this cover. It's just some super pale hands holding a red apple. Maybe fans of the series get this symbol, but I don't
Summary/Tagline: 1* - I rolled my eyes at the summary. It didn't grab me then and it doesn't grab me now.
Characters: 1* - The book follows Bella who meets a vampire character named Edward ... Yeah, Bella is a very boring main character, Edward is a total creep, and Jacob and MANY other characters are forgettable AF.
World Building: /* - This book takes place in a modern day small town, but I think the town is made up, and there are vampires in this version of our world... yeah I don't remember a thing. So I don't have anything to add here.
Story: 2* - 2 stars, I know, but as painfully dull as this story was, I got about halfway through the book before I closed the book for good and gave it back to my friend. I just ... don't care in the slightest. I didn't care about the characters and I didn't care about the story. Enough said.
Over All: 2* - Honestly, I'm giving this book 2 stars because like I said, I got about halfway through the book and stopped. That's it. From what I can remember, I didn't care about anything that was going on, and the characters weren't at all interesting, and before anyone says anything, yes I was a teenager when I read it, I was literally the demographic, but this book CLEARLY wasn't for me. It was boring, cringey, and just blah.
Book Cover: 1* - Honestly I don't get this cover. It's just some super pale hands holding a red apple. Maybe fans of the series get this symbol, but I don't
Summary/Tagline: 1* - I rolled my eyes at the summary. It didn't grab me then and it doesn't grab me now.
Characters: 1* - The book follows Bella who meets a vampire character named Edward ... Yeah, Bella is a very boring main character, Edward is a total creep, and Jacob and MANY other characters are forgettable AF.
World Building: /* - This book takes place in a modern day small town, but I think the town is made up, and there are vampires in this version of our world... yeah I don't remember a thing. So I don't have anything to add here.
Story: 2* - 2 stars, I know, but as painfully dull as this story was, I got about halfway through the book before I closed the book for good and gave it back to my friend. I just ... don't care in the slightest. I didn't care about the characters and I didn't care about the story. Enough said.
Over All: 2* - Honestly, I'm giving this book 2 stars because like I said, I got about halfway through the book and stopped. That's it. From what I can remember, I didn't care about anything that was going on, and the characters weren't at all interesting, and before anyone says anything, yes I was a teenager when I read it, I was literally the demographic, but this book CLEARLY wasn't for me. It was boring, cringey, and just blah.
Mist & Whispers by C.M. Lucas
4.0
*NEW*
Ok, so since the sudden closing of Eight Little Pages, this author's small publishing company, the author has left social media entirely. I don't know if she will ever return to announce future books in this series. So if you do decide to give this book a try, please be aware that there is no knowing if this series will ever get finished.
****
This book is a Young Adult Fantasy novel book 1.
Book Cover: 5* - Can I say, this cover is beautiful. The illustration is amazing as the swirling light provides a bit of mysticism on the cover. I'm going to be honest, this book was a hardcore cover buy for me lol.
Summary/Tagline: 3.5* - The tagline I think is pretty straightforward in my opinion and something I've heard before. "To save a bookshop, first she must save a kingdom." See, nothing crazy, although I was curious how saving a bookshop and a kingdom coincide in this book lol. Now the summary itself is something I'm not sure about. Like I'm curious, but I could leave it as well. I mean it is a simple summary telling me that the main character has a place she loves, she is about to lose it, and in order to save it, she goes world hopping. It does sound like something I've heard before but that isn't always a bad thing, it's just the summary didn't grab me as well as the cover did.
Characters: 4* - Now the characters in this book are something. First is the main character, Anya. She is a spunky kid that loves to read books, sounds like someone I could be friends with lol, BUT, but, but, but, although she is spunky she has a lot of moments of backing off too easily or loses her temper and beats the crap out of someone after talking s***, and it normally depends on the character. Her ex-boyfriend Michael . . . Oh BOY! I couldn't stand this character. He was whiny, complaining, tried to make every situation about him, and always kept trying to make Anya feel bad about breaking up with him. I didn't want him dead but I did want him gone from the story, he was just pissing me off every time he opened his mouth and tried to start crap, not to mention he is so easily jealous when Anya talks to other male characters, GOD I hate Michael. There are 2 couple characters that journey with Anya, Stephanie and Tim. I thought these two are really sweet and kind characters, especially when they try to put up with Anya and Michael arguing lol. They really try their hardest not to yell at them to shut up lmao. There are 2 villain characters in this book but saying their names may be spoiler so I will just say this, their are an obvious evil, vile, heinous, and you can tell by their actions towards Anya and her friend Stephanie that they've probably raped women before regardless of age. They were also just plain out creepy. There are 2 characters that I wish I got more of because they were more interesting than the characters from the core group. A fairy Prince named Harrion and a dragon boy named Lorcan. They were kind, helpful, suggesting things to Anya instead of just telling her what to do as if she was an idiot, and just great guys and no, both were not love . . . ok one of them may be a potential love interest but the other was meant to be more like a brother to Anya, which was a great change for me. Not every. Single. Male character. Has to be a love interest. I actually liked these 2, but they weren't in most of the book sadly so I was stuck with Michael constantly trying to "Protect" Anya. There were a few other characters but they weren't as noteworthy as these characters. Just know I liked some and didn't care about others lol.
World Building: 3* - Ok so the world building wasn't fully lacking but it wasn't fully there either, more like it wasn't a focus I guess. Anya and her friends are from our world, nothing special, but in order to find these amazing, bookshop saving books, they had to follow a riddle that landed Anya and her friends in another world. Magic is a thing but can only be done by the royal family. Even Lorcan's appearance was because of the King's little sister, so curses can be done too but I still had a lot of questions about the magic system that just weren't answered for me. It was also neat learning about some of the Gods in this new world and why some buildings and rooms are shaped a certain way, that was really neat.
Story: 3.5* - All right I am just going to say this now, the story was WAY to fast paced for me. We go jumping from moment to moment to moment, most of which I was like wait weren't we just eating outside when did we get back at the tent to talk about the riddle or we went from talking to the King to already journeying outside camp. It was very jarring for me, as though things needed to be happening all the time without much of a slowdown, and when there is a slowdown it only lasted for a bout a page or so before something crazy happens that Anya needs to try and get her and her friends out of. Other than that as I've explained in the summary, the bookshop that Anya recently started working at and loves is about to close for good. A rival bookshop is exclusively selling books that is putting Anya's bookshop out of business. She has the idea from the bookshop owner that there may be more of those books that haven't been found and those books may save the bookshop. Instead they find a riddle that sends them teleporting to another world. I have a feeling each book will be Anya in other worlds looking for these books, and if I remember correctly, there are 6 books she needs to find, so probably 6 worlds to go through . . . Maybe, it depends on the riddle and the author lol. After arriving to the new world Anya discovers that she is the "Prophesied Chosen One" . . . Yup. She has a mark on her hand suddenly that proves it. Many people that "Support" the King find it an insult that a "Little Girl" would try and save them from the darkness that engulfs the world and so she needs to prove herself while looking for these special books to save the bookshop. So, shenanigans ensue lol.
Over All: 3.5 to 4* - So far, I'm not sure how to feel about this book. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either. I honestly keep going back and forth from 3.5 to 4 stars. I'll probably put it down as 4 but I am still back and forth with my own, personal score. Anya is a pretty good kid but she needs to find the spine to tell Michael to back off. I hope to get more of Lorcan and I look forward to seeing Stephanie and Tim again. I'm also pretty sure the villain that got away is one that Anya will need to face in the end, but if I'm wrong, I'm wrong. The next world Anya and her friends were dropped off at is one I wasn't expecting to be a world of its own. I would still read the next book in the series when it does come out. I would recommend this book for those who just got off reading Middle Grade books and are ready to get started on Young Adult books, this is a great first start, but know this, it gets really dark towards the end of the novel. There will be hanging heads and decapitated hands that make up a throne . . . It's gross. There's more but I will leave that up to you whether or not you want to read this.
Ok, so since the sudden closing of Eight Little Pages, this author's small publishing company, the author has left social media entirely. I don't know if she will ever return to announce future books in this series. So if you do decide to give this book a try, please be aware that there is no knowing if this series will ever get finished.
****
This book is a Young Adult Fantasy novel book 1.
Book Cover: 5* - Can I say, this cover is beautiful. The illustration is amazing as the swirling light provides a bit of mysticism on the cover. I'm going to be honest, this book was a hardcore cover buy for me lol.
Summary/Tagline: 3.5* - The tagline I think is pretty straightforward in my opinion and something I've heard before. "To save a bookshop, first she must save a kingdom." See, nothing crazy, although I was curious how saving a bookshop and a kingdom coincide in this book lol. Now the summary itself is something I'm not sure about. Like I'm curious, but I could leave it as well. I mean it is a simple summary telling me that the main character has a place she loves, she is about to lose it, and in order to save it, she goes world hopping. It does sound like something I've heard before but that isn't always a bad thing, it's just the summary didn't grab me as well as the cover did.
Characters: 4* - Now the characters in this book are something. First is the main character, Anya. She is a spunky kid that loves to read books, sounds like someone I could be friends with lol, BUT, but, but, but, although she is spunky she has a lot of moments of backing off too easily or loses her temper and beats the crap out of someone after talking s***, and it normally depends on the character. Her ex-boyfriend Michael . . . Oh BOY! I couldn't stand this character. He was whiny, complaining, tried to make every situation about him, and always kept trying to make Anya feel bad about breaking up with him. I didn't want him dead but I did want him gone from the story, he was just pissing me off every time he opened his mouth and tried to start crap, not to mention he is so easily jealous when Anya talks to other male characters, GOD I hate Michael. There are 2 couple characters that journey with Anya, Stephanie and Tim. I thought these two are really sweet and kind characters, especially when they try to put up with Anya and Michael arguing lol. They really try their hardest not to yell at them to shut up lmao. There are 2 villain characters in this book but saying their names may be spoiler so I will just say this, their are an obvious evil, vile, heinous, and you can tell by their actions towards Anya and her friend Stephanie that they've probably raped women before regardless of age. They were also just plain out creepy. There are 2 characters that I wish I got more of because they were more interesting than the characters from the core group. A fairy Prince named Harrion and a dragon boy named Lorcan. They were kind, helpful, suggesting things to Anya instead of just telling her what to do as if she was an idiot, and just great guys and no, both were not love . . . ok one of them may be a potential love interest but the other was meant to be more like a brother to Anya, which was a great change for me. Not every. Single. Male character. Has to be a love interest. I actually liked these 2, but they weren't in most of the book sadly so I was stuck with Michael constantly trying to "Protect" Anya. There were a few other characters but they weren't as noteworthy as these characters. Just know I liked some and didn't care about others lol.
World Building: 3* - Ok so the world building wasn't fully lacking but it wasn't fully there either, more like it wasn't a focus I guess. Anya and her friends are from our world, nothing special, but in order to find these amazing, bookshop saving books, they had to follow a riddle that landed Anya and her friends in another world. Magic is a thing but can only be done by the royal family. Even Lorcan's appearance was because of the King's little sister, so curses can be done too but I still had a lot of questions about the magic system that just weren't answered for me. It was also neat learning about some of the Gods in this new world and why some buildings and rooms are shaped a certain way, that was really neat.
Story: 3.5* - All right I am just going to say this now, the story was WAY to fast paced for me. We go jumping from moment to moment to moment, most of which I was like wait weren't we just eating outside when did we get back at the tent to talk about the riddle or we went from talking to the King to already journeying outside camp. It was very jarring for me, as though things needed to be happening all the time without much of a slowdown, and when there is a slowdown it only lasted for a bout a page or so before something crazy happens that Anya needs to try and get her and her friends out of. Other than that as I've explained in the summary, the bookshop that Anya recently started working at and loves is about to close for good. A rival bookshop is exclusively selling books that is putting Anya's bookshop out of business. She has the idea from the bookshop owner that there may be more of those books that haven't been found and those books may save the bookshop. Instead they find a riddle that sends them teleporting to another world. I have a feeling each book will be Anya in other worlds looking for these books, and if I remember correctly, there are 6 books she needs to find, so probably 6 worlds to go through . . . Maybe, it depends on the riddle and the author lol. After arriving to the new world Anya discovers that she is the "Prophesied Chosen One" . . . Yup. She has a mark on her hand suddenly that proves it. Many people that "Support" the King find it an insult that a "Little Girl" would try and save them from the darkness that engulfs the world and so she needs to prove herself while looking for these special books to save the bookshop. So, shenanigans ensue lol.
Over All: 3.5 to 4* - So far, I'm not sure how to feel about this book. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either. I honestly keep going back and forth from 3.5 to 4 stars. I'll probably put it down as 4 but I am still back and forth with my own, personal score. Anya is a pretty good kid but she needs to find the spine to tell Michael to back off. I hope to get more of Lorcan and I look forward to seeing Stephanie and Tim again. I'm also pretty sure the villain that got away is one that Anya will need to face in the end, but if I'm wrong, I'm wrong. The next world Anya and her friends were dropped off at is one I wasn't expecting to be a world of its own. I would still read the next book in the series when it does come out. I would recommend this book for those who just got off reading Middle Grade books and are ready to get started on Young Adult books, this is a great first start, but know this, it gets really dark towards the end of the novel. There will be hanging heads and decapitated hands that make up a throne . . . It's gross. There's more but I will leave that up to you whether or not you want to read this.
The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Prince Caspian is a Children/Middle Grade Portal Fantasy novel, book 7 in the series.
Based on my scores for this book, I think I can be fine with this score. Honestly, I think I can go anywhere from 2 to 2.5 because my feeling are somewhat all over the place, but 3 stars is fine. Tirian was an alright POV and learning of the enemy god was really interesting to learn, just everything after the battle I was not at all a fan of and mostly disinterested before then, and you know cringed when the main characters went FREAKING brown face for a chapter! Try to convince me otherwise, this series doesn't age well and it's still messed up what happened to the previous characters ok. So, I will just leave this at, my husband and I aren't coming back to this series, not even to read to my son. I'm sure there are better books for him that aren't so cringey and outdated.
Based on my scores for this book, I think I can be fine with this score. Honestly, I think I can go anywhere from 2 to 2.5 because my feeling are somewhat all over the place, but 3 stars is fine. Tirian was an alright POV and learning of the enemy god was really interesting to learn, just everything after the battle I was not at all a fan of and mostly disinterested before then, and you know cringed when the main characters went FREAKING brown face for a chapter! Try to convince me otherwise, this series doesn't age well and it's still messed up what happened to the previous characters ok. So, I will just leave this at, my husband and I aren't coming back to this series, not even to read to my son. I'm sure there are better books for him that aren't so cringey and outdated.
Eragon by Christopher Paolini
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is a Young Adult High/Epic Fantasy novel book 1.
The narrator was pretty good, don't get me wrong. He provided as many various voices as he can and provided even some personality into some of the dialogues. The thing is, I wasn't really a fan of Saphira's voice. The movie adaptation wasn't good, but I definitely prefer the actress who played Saphira's voice over what the narrator did, and the closer we got to the final act of the book, the more characters there were, the more some of their voices started to sound the same, especially some of the female characters, but other than that, he still did pretty great, even provided different accents to some of the characters too. All in all, I had such a blast rereading/listening to Eragon. I loved most of the characters, especially Eragon and Saphira, I loved the world building, the history especially, and the story was just so adventurous and fun. There is urgency, but there is also time to gather oneself after the loss of a loved one or they just lost. There is a time to learn and a time to fight. To me, this book is just so wonderfully balanced and I. Freaking. Loved it. Now, I know I said this book is a High/Epic Fantasy, but in my opinion, I think this a good introduction book into this genre. It's not at all dense in information and I think it's pretty easy to read. If you know someone that wants to try something a little more fantastical, adventurous, and large in scale, I will totally suggest this book to start of with. I can't wait to reread the rest of this series now.
The narrator was pretty good, don't get me wrong. He provided as many various voices as he can and provided even some personality into some of the dialogues. The thing is, I wasn't really a fan of Saphira's voice. The movie adaptation wasn't good, but I definitely prefer the actress who played Saphira's voice over what the narrator did, and the closer we got to the final act of the book, the more characters there were, the more some of their voices started to sound the same, especially some of the female characters, but other than that, he still did pretty great, even provided different accents to some of the characters too. All in all, I had such a blast rereading/listening to Eragon. I loved most of the characters, especially Eragon and Saphira, I loved the world building, the history especially, and the story was just so adventurous and fun. There is urgency, but there is also time to gather oneself after the loss of a loved one or they just lost. There is a time to learn and a time to fight. To me, this book is just so wonderfully balanced and I. Freaking. Loved it. Now, I know I said this book is a High/Epic Fantasy, but in my opinion, I think this a good introduction book into this genre. It's not at all dense in information and I think it's pretty easy to read. If you know someone that wants to try something a little more fantastical, adventurous, and large in scale, I will totally suggest this book to start of with. I can't wait to reread the rest of this series now.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is a Middle Grade Urban Fantasy novel book 3 in the series.
**Please be aware that the author to this series has come forward as being a transphobic TERF, purposely spreading lies and misinformation about not only the trans community but nonbinary folks as well. She is unapologetic and doesn't care how much harm her platform now brings onto certain members of the LGBTQIA+ community. If you wish to read this book and/or this series, then please be aware of what she is doing. Thank you.**
Although I still don't feel much for Harry, the story was engaging, the world building was very informative, and it was very intriguing learning about some of the characters. However, Snape and Draco are still just unbearable to deal with, especially when one of them is a freaking adult that acts like a petulant child that apparently likes to hold grudges for a very long time. The story was better than 2 and I will be continuing with the series, eventually lol.
**Please be aware that the author to this series has come forward as being a transphobic TERF, purposely spreading lies and misinformation about not only the trans community but nonbinary folks as well. She is unapologetic and doesn't care how much harm her platform now brings onto certain members of the LGBTQIA+ community. If you wish to read this book and/or this series, then please be aware of what she is doing. Thank you.**
Although I still don't feel much for Harry, the story was engaging, the world building was very informative, and it was very intriguing learning about some of the characters. However, Snape and Draco are still just unbearable to deal with, especially when one of them is a freaking adult that acts like a petulant child that apparently likes to hold grudges for a very long time. The story was better than 2 and I will be continuing with the series, eventually lol.