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starringsteph's Reviews (345)
I totally understand the hype now. I honestly have no idea why it took me so long to pick up this book. I love it so much. Leigh Bardugo's Grisha world is mesmerizing and completely grabbed my attention. I could not put this book down.
Let me start with the plot. As some of you may know, I'm an infamous plot guesser, but there was only one thing I predicted correctly in this novel and I was already nearing the end of the book (so really does it even count?). Anyways, the plot had me completely gripped and even with a classic little love triangle, that could usually be pretty annoying, I loved it. The Grisha world is just full of everything that there's never a break, or really ever a moment, for me, or any other reader, to put down the book. I'm not putting out any spoilers so I can't talk about the plot too much just that it's awesome and action packed! This book honestly gave me the strongest feelings from worry to butterflies in my stomach I was completely attached to this book emotionally.
Ahh now we get to Alina! This girl is the perfect main, because like other mains she has a sympathetic backstory, she's not gorgeous (but guys like her anyways), and she's strong (even though in Alina's case she didn't really know!). Alina is just the kind of character to get devoted to and it's hard to help but adore her pureness of heart and positivity. However, then there's Mal and the Darkling. Yep there's the little love triangle but I won't ruin anything for you guys but let me just say the guy she ends up with is just goals and I totally ship them. Mal's character was totally dreamy, but sort of a jerk in the beginning. Then there's the Darkling who attracts everyone especially due to his incredible power. I'll leave it there for now. However, the romance that does occur felt quite unrealistic (but it's fiction and sometimes we all need/want that unreal love). PS. I liked Genya a lot, now I don't I won't say anymore.
The Grisha world is AMAZING and I can't wait to read the next two books to learn more about the world! The map at the beginning of the book honestly took up at least 5 minutes of my time because I could not stop staring. In fact, all the art and design revolving this book is GORGEOUS (seriously ... everything). From the amazing plotline, to the wonderfully written characters, all the way to the beautifully planned out Grisha world Shadow and Bone is a book I'd recommend to all Young Adult or Fantasy readers (and probably everyone else too!)
Let me start with the plot. As some of you may know, I'm an infamous plot guesser, but there was only one thing I predicted correctly in this novel and I was already nearing the end of the book (so really does it even count?). Anyways, the plot had me completely gripped and even with a classic little love triangle, that could usually be pretty annoying, I loved it. The Grisha world is just full of everything that there's never a break, or really ever a moment, for me, or any other reader, to put down the book. I'm not putting out any spoilers so I can't talk about the plot too much just that it's awesome and action packed! This book honestly gave me the strongest feelings from worry to butterflies in my stomach I was completely attached to this book emotionally.
Ahh now we get to Alina! This girl is the perfect main, because like other mains she has a sympathetic backstory, she's not gorgeous (but guys like her anyways), and she's strong (even though in Alina's case she didn't really know!). Alina is just the kind of character to get devoted to and it's hard to help but adore her pureness of heart and positivity. However, then there's Mal and the Darkling. Yep there's the little love triangle but I won't ruin anything for you guys but let me just say the guy she ends up with is just goals and I totally ship them. Mal's character was totally dreamy, but sort of a jerk in the beginning. Then there's the Darkling who attracts everyone especially due to his incredible power. I'll leave it there for now. However, the romance that does occur felt quite unrealistic (but it's fiction and sometimes we all need/want that unreal love). PS. I liked Genya a lot, now I don't I won't say anymore.
The Grisha world is AMAZING and I can't wait to read the next two books to learn more about the world! The map at the beginning of the book honestly took up at least 5 minutes of my time because I could not stop staring. In fact, all the art and design revolving this book is GORGEOUS (seriously ... everything). From the amazing plotline, to the wonderfully written characters, all the way to the beautifully planned out Grisha world Shadow and Bone is a book I'd recommend to all Young Adult or Fantasy readers (and probably everyone else too!)
WOW ok first of all HARRY POTTER. Anyways, I know there are plenty of mixed reviews out there but let me just say that this review is MY opinion and you guys are free to think whatever you want! I'll start by addressing what other people disliked. Many people didn't like the format... but it's a script so I definitely was prepared for it and to be honest it helped me get through the book much quicker. Although I do have to agree it felt slightly like a fanfiction, but who cares right? (She didn't have to write any more but she did so take it or leave it!) Some people also didn't even like the plot, but let me get to that in a minute.
I honestly wasn't even planning on getting this book when I did because I just happened to be at Costco to return something and my dad asked if I wanted anything and I was really hoping they would have this book and THEY DID SO I WAS LITERALLY JUST HUGGING THIS BOOK ON THE RIDE HOME. Ok whew breathe, getting a bit too excited all over again. Now let's get into it. First of all I was already aware of the mixed reviews so I was a bit cautious reading this book, but let me just say this script was intended to be a play and for all intents and purposes it did a REALLY good job. I get that maybe it didn't make the best novel, but it's a PLAY, and there isn't meant to be anymore.
My favorite part was really getting to see the crew back at it again. Harry, Ron, Hermione, just made me feel at home again. They are the three characters I could never read enough on. They are literal squad goals (seriously how many squads have the saved the world and had fun doing it?). Just getting to hear about Hogwarts again made me feel nostalgic.
Right in the beginning we are introduced to Harry's third child, his son, Albus. Albus instantly felt like a little Harry Potter clone to me despite the differences that both Harry and Albus claimed. Ok so the interesting stuff may include spoilers so I hid it but you can check it out on my blog!
I honestly wasn't even planning on getting this book when I did because I just happened to be at Costco to return something and my dad asked if I wanted anything and I was really hoping they would have this book and THEY DID SO I WAS LITERALLY JUST HUGGING THIS BOOK ON THE RIDE HOME. Ok whew breathe, getting a bit too excited all over again. Now let's get into it. First of all I was already aware of the mixed reviews so I was a bit cautious reading this book, but let me just say this script was intended to be a play and for all intents and purposes it did a REALLY good job. I get that maybe it didn't make the best novel, but it's a PLAY, and there isn't meant to be anymore.
My favorite part was really getting to see the crew back at it again. Harry, Ron, Hermione, just made me feel at home again. They are the three characters I could never read enough on. They are literal squad goals (seriously how many squads have the saved the world and had fun doing it?). Just getting to hear about Hogwarts again made me feel nostalgic.
Right in the beginning we are introduced to Harry's third child, his son, Albus. Albus instantly felt like a little Harry Potter clone to me despite the differences that both Harry and Albus claimed. Ok so the interesting stuff may include spoilers so I hid it but you can check it out on my blog!
First off, this is the SECOND book of the Grisha Trilogy so don't read this is you don't want spoilers for Shadow and Bone!
Siege and Storm was action packed, so much so that I honestly had to pause a couple times to take everything in. There really was a bit of everything in this novel! I loved the action, adventure, romance, and emotions I experienced while reading this and I have to say that I can't stop thinking about this plot!
Now that the Grisha world was pretty much all set up, Leigh Bardugo really started the whole adventure of Alina vs the Darkling. Alina's struggle with Mal, the Darkling, Nikolai, and saving Ravka is something that is present throughout this novel and really caused a LOT of emotions. Alina really goes through a lot in this storyline whether it involve romance drama to saving the world, Alina has a lot on her shoulders. I love that Alina can make mistakes and that Alina comes from a poorer upbringing because after she is thrust into this new found glory, I just can't imagine would it would of been like if she already came from a higher upbringing.
We are also introduced to Tamar and Tolya, grisha twins whom I LOVE DEARLY (especially since I'm a twin too), but I just found them to be the side characters that really captured my attention. I actually found the characters in this novel to be incredibly unique and I really love them all.. except certain ones (cough Genya couch the Darkling)
This book had more of a focus on the culture of the people now that Grisha world was fully constructed. Although this book had much less world building than Shadow and Bone, SO MUCH HAPPENED ALL THE TIME. I honestly loved that about it! It feel like a plot induced adrenaline high? (if that's even possible because then book cardio could be real) I don't want to give anything away for those who haven't picked up this book yet so let me just say that I laughed, cried, yelled, and probably yelled some more (but mostly in my head ... I share a room ).
If you didn't get any of this review let me just make it known that this book was amazing and everyone should go and read it. (This is not even a suggestion, yeah it's that good).
Siege and Storm was action packed, so much so that I honestly had to pause a couple times to take everything in. There really was a bit of everything in this novel! I loved the action, adventure, romance, and emotions I experienced while reading this and I have to say that I can't stop thinking about this plot!
Now that the Grisha world was pretty much all set up, Leigh Bardugo really started the whole adventure of Alina vs the Darkling. Alina's struggle with Mal, the Darkling, Nikolai, and saving Ravka is something that is present throughout this novel and really caused a LOT of emotions. Alina really goes through a lot in this storyline whether it involve romance drama to saving the world, Alina has a lot on her shoulders. I love that Alina can make mistakes and that Alina comes from a poorer upbringing because after she is thrust into this new found glory, I just can't imagine would it would of been like if she already came from a higher upbringing.
We are also introduced to Tamar and Tolya, grisha twins whom I LOVE DEARLY (especially since I'm a twin too), but I just found them to be the side characters that really captured my attention. I actually found the characters in this novel to be incredibly unique and I really love them all.. except certain ones (cough Genya couch the Darkling)
This book had more of a focus on the culture of the people now that Grisha world was fully constructed. Although this book had much less world building than Shadow and Bone, SO MUCH HAPPENED ALL THE TIME. I honestly loved that about it! It feel like a plot induced adrenaline high? (if that's even possible because then book cardio could be real) I don't want to give anything away for those who haven't picked up this book yet so let me just say that I laughed, cried, yelled, and probably yelled some more (but mostly in my head ... I share a room ).
If you didn't get any of this review let me just make it known that this book was amazing and everyone should go and read it. (This is not even a suggestion, yeah it's that good).
My heart was throbbing with the amount of feels I got throughout reading this book. Once again, Leigh Bardugo has forced me to actually stop between scenes to just process my feelings and calm my poor heart.
Ruin and Rising really brought this series to a beautiful ending that left me content with what I was given, even though I love the Grisha world so much and don't really ever want it to end. This book may only be a couple hundred pages long, but like Siege and Storm, so much happened. I honestly paused every couple of scenes just to process everything because the plot was amazing and my heart was definitely being stressed out.
In terms of romance, Ruin and Rising does finally put an end to the love triangle and because I don't want to give any spoilers, I will just say that I was incredibly happy with who Alina ended up with. The romance was really built up in suspense throughout this entire book and I liked that because even though I was very much on a certain character's side, the feeling of suspense really glued my attention to the story. PS Alina and her love is now my OTP. Seriously, I get the feels everytime I read about them.
The plot in Ruin and Rising, personally, was the best out of all three of the books. I loved all the plots but I found this one the best due to the many plot twists that I couldn't predict as well as how much Leigh Bardugo was able to fit in so little pages. This book could honestly be made into a two to three hour movie (yea that much happened). I loved that in this novel Alina really found out a lot about herself and all these cool mysteries that always seem to occur. I also loved that there is almost always something happening which can actually be hard to say for many books. Even when I stopped reading I couldn't stop thinking about what was happening and I would say that really means that this book is able to fully capture my imagination. I just could not stop thinking about what was going to happen.
After reading this book I actually really fell in love with Zoya, Genya, and Harshaw. (As well as the character I was rooting for, but I won't say who.) It's strange that after what they've been through the reader is also able to fall in love with characters Alina didn't always like!
PPS: I haven't mentioned in my previous reviews, but I also love the before and after parts of this book. They really get me in the Grisha mood in the beginning and tie up any loose ends to keep me content.
PPPS: Let me know if Genya reminds you of the Selection series?!
If you want a soul touching book, filled with action, magic, and love, this is it! Ruin and Rising and the rest of the Grisha Trilogy is a series I will never forget, because it's just something that won't let you forget it. Seriously, go and pick up Shadow and Bone today to start the series, you can thank me later!
Ruin and Rising really brought this series to a beautiful ending that left me content with what I was given, even though I love the Grisha world so much and don't really ever want it to end. This book may only be a couple hundred pages long, but like Siege and Storm, so much happened. I honestly paused every couple of scenes just to process everything because the plot was amazing and my heart was definitely being stressed out.
In terms of romance, Ruin and Rising does finally put an end to the love triangle and because I don't want to give any spoilers, I will just say that I was incredibly happy with who Alina ended up with. The romance was really built up in suspense throughout this entire book and I liked that because even though I was very much on a certain character's side, the feeling of suspense really glued my attention to the story. PS Alina and her love is now my OTP. Seriously, I get the feels everytime I read about them.
The plot in Ruin and Rising, personally, was the best out of all three of the books. I loved all the plots but I found this one the best due to the many plot twists that I couldn't predict as well as how much Leigh Bardugo was able to fit in so little pages. This book could honestly be made into a two to three hour movie (yea that much happened). I loved that in this novel Alina really found out a lot about herself and all these cool mysteries that always seem to occur. I also loved that there is almost always something happening which can actually be hard to say for many books. Even when I stopped reading I couldn't stop thinking about what was happening and I would say that really means that this book is able to fully capture my imagination. I just could not stop thinking about what was going to happen.
After reading this book I actually really fell in love with Zoya, Genya, and Harshaw. (As well as the character I was rooting for, but I won't say who.) It's strange that after what they've been through the reader is also able to fall in love with characters Alina didn't always like!
PPS: I haven't mentioned in my previous reviews, but I also love the before and after parts of this book. They really get me in the Grisha mood in the beginning and tie up any loose ends to keep me content.
PPPS: Let me know if Genya reminds you of the Selection series?!
If you want a soul touching book, filled with action, magic, and love, this is it! Ruin and Rising and the rest of the Grisha Trilogy is a series I will never forget, because it's just something that won't let you forget it. Seriously, go and pick up Shadow and Bone today to start the series, you can thank me later!
Heartless was one of my most anticipated reads this year, but although the book was written well I found it somewhat disappointing (but I still didn't take away any stars because it was that sort of bad if you know what I mean). Essentially, Heartless is a twist on Alice and Wonderland, but not in the same way Marissa Meyer twisted many fairy tales for the Lunar Chronicles. You can expect for Heartless to stay a bit truer to Alice and Wonderland and less of a completely different story like her other series.
Although the world itself was not the most interesting part of the book for me (especially since the world of Alice in Wonderland is already SO wondrous) I found myself more attached to the characters and the plot. Catherine in the main character of the book and I actually related to her in many ways (as most parents do have their children's futures in some kind of set path and when I younger I actually wanted to become a baker). Despite my connection to Catherine, I found myself even more intrigued by Jest. Jest was by far my favorite character in the book and before long I was deeply invested in Jest. Like most perfect fictional guys, he was kind and gorgeous, but Jest, being the Joker also had a quick wit and was humorous. My main attraction to the other characters was really the fact that I could tie them back to the original story and find out how Marissa Meyer tweaked them, which was incredibly interesting to look for (almost like Where's Waldo?).
The plot was heartbreaking, beautiful, and well thought out. There is a love triangle (warning for those who don't like the love triangle), but it wasn't really one of the annoying sorts of love triangles. I found the romance to be by far one of my favorite things about this novel and though things didn't go the way I wanted (NO SPOILERS I PROMISE), I still accepted the outcome. The rest of the plot was also incredible and Marissa Meyer really found a way to incorporate the entire world of Alice in Wonderland in a slightly different angle. However, I did find the ending of this novel to be a little to fast for me and I wished that there was more to really help me get through it.
With only minor complaints, (ones that I probably can't really complain about), I found Heartless to be without a doubt one of the best books I have read this year. It also really sparked a love for Alice in Wonderland that I didn't know I had in me! (Seriously! I went and watched Through the Looking Glass after reading this because I didn't want anything to stop!) I would really recommend Heartless to any Alice in Wonderland lovers as well as those who love retellings, fantasy, or romance!
Although the world itself was not the most interesting part of the book for me (especially since the world of Alice in Wonderland is already SO wondrous) I found myself more attached to the characters and the plot. Catherine in the main character of the book and I actually related to her in many ways (as most parents do have their children's futures in some kind of set path and when I younger I actually wanted to become a baker). Despite my connection to Catherine, I found myself even more intrigued by Jest. Jest was by far my favorite character in the book and before long I was deeply invested in Jest. Like most perfect fictional guys, he was kind and gorgeous, but Jest, being the Joker also had a quick wit and was humorous. My main attraction to the other characters was really the fact that I could tie them back to the original story and find out how Marissa Meyer tweaked them, which was incredibly interesting to look for (almost like Where's Waldo?).
The plot was heartbreaking, beautiful, and well thought out. There is a love triangle (warning for those who don't like the love triangle), but it wasn't really one of the annoying sorts of love triangles. I found the romance to be by far one of my favorite things about this novel and though things didn't go the way I wanted (NO SPOILERS I PROMISE), I still accepted the outcome. The rest of the plot was also incredible and Marissa Meyer really found a way to incorporate the entire world of Alice in Wonderland in a slightly different angle. However, I did find the ending of this novel to be a little to fast for me and I wished that there was more to really help me get through it.
With only minor complaints, (ones that I probably can't really complain about), I found Heartless to be without a doubt one of the best books I have read this year. It also really sparked a love for Alice in Wonderland that I didn't know I had in me! (Seriously! I went and watched Through the Looking Glass after reading this because I didn't want anything to stop!) I would really recommend Heartless to any Alice in Wonderland lovers as well as those who love retellings, fantasy, or romance!
This book is great read for the summer (ahh summer is almost over where has the time gone?!) and although I don't know if it was intentional, this novel was pretty much a contemporary retelling of the Little Mermaid. From the mermaid hunting, seashell necklace, lack of voice, multiple sisters, and a sort of prince charming, this sounds quite familiar no?
I actually read this book all in one day, so I would say that this book is pretty easy to read and get through. However, it wasn't one of the best contemporary books I've read. I just found the romance in this novel to be both unrealistic (because um he was dating someone else and that girl didn't even care?!).
The main reason I took off stars was because of the ending. It just didn't answer to my endless curiosity and because it's a standalone I guess I'll never find out certain things! It did have the main questions answered but others were not (and it was on purpose) but I did not like guessing the ending.
Overall, I did enjoy this book and the way it connected to the Little Mermaid. My favorite part of this novel was Elyse, as a character and her adventure throughout this story. She is actually a twin, (there are so many twins in YA?) and so am I, if you didn't know, so I found a sort of connection with her. Elyse is a girl who was on her way to becoming a famous singer, but tragically loses her voice. It was incredible to see her journey from shying away and into accepting herself. The message this book sent was an inspiring one and I thought that was really great to take away from this novel.
www.bringingpaperback.weebly.com
I actually read this book all in one day, so I would say that this book is pretty easy to read and get through. However, it wasn't one of the best contemporary books I've read. I just found the romance in this novel to be both unrealistic (because um he was dating someone else and that girl didn't even care?!).
The main reason I took off stars was because of the ending. It just didn't answer to my endless curiosity and because it's a standalone I guess I'll never find out certain things! It did have the main questions answered but others were not (and it was on purpose) but I did not like guessing the ending.
Overall, I did enjoy this book and the way it connected to the Little Mermaid. My favorite part of this novel was Elyse, as a character and her adventure throughout this story. She is actually a twin, (there are so many twins in YA?) and so am I, if you didn't know, so I found a sort of connection with her. Elyse is a girl who was on her way to becoming a famous singer, but tragically loses her voice. It was incredible to see her journey from shying away and into accepting herself. The message this book sent was an inspiring one and I thought that was really great to take away from this novel.
www.bringingpaperback.weebly.com
This review will be slightly different because I could see my younger self really enjoying this whereas older readers may not. I'll start off with what my younger self would say.
This book was A BLAST. There was action, magic, drama and everything you needed in a book! The key idea was really cool! I also really enjoyed Luke's character, background story and his entrance to his new life. His race to stop evil was full of adventure, mischief, friendship, and family. There were many plot twists (I'm assuming my younger self probably wouldn't be able to predict anything..) that I couldn't see coming! I would really recommend this book to anyone who loves magic and adventure!
As an older reader, I found this book way too similar to Harry Potter. Luke, the main character, lost both his parents got sent into a magical world in practically a split second. There he befriended a boy and a girl and there were magical competitions involving lakes and his famous blood helped him through a lot. There was even a boy who hated him for his father and his blood... (Malfoy pretty much). However, even with this slight problem and this book clearly being aimed towards younger readers, I have to say that I did want to finish this book! Yes, it would have been better reading this book a couple years back, but it wasn't a bad read even now.
I also found this book very predictable, again a problem that I probably wouldn't have faced if I read it a couple years back, but I was pretty much able to predict the two largest things that would happen by page 100 or before.
Overall, I really would recommend this book to younger readers, but even as an older reader I found the urge to keep on reading. As you can see I have two ratings one for younger readers (4/5) and one for older readers(3/5)!
www.bringingpaperback.weebly.com
This book was A BLAST. There was action, magic, drama and everything you needed in a book! The key idea was really cool! I also really enjoyed Luke's character, background story and his entrance to his new life. His race to stop evil was full of adventure, mischief, friendship, and family. There were many plot twists (I'm assuming my younger self probably wouldn't be able to predict anything..) that I couldn't see coming! I would really recommend this book to anyone who loves magic and adventure!
As an older reader, I found this book way too similar to Harry Potter. Luke, the main character, lost both his parents got sent into a magical world in practically a split second. There he befriended a boy and a girl and there were magical competitions involving lakes and his famous blood helped him through a lot. There was even a boy who hated him for his father and his blood... (Malfoy pretty much). However, even with this slight problem and this book clearly being aimed towards younger readers, I have to say that I did want to finish this book! Yes, it would have been better reading this book a couple years back, but it wasn't a bad read even now.
I also found this book very predictable, again a problem that I probably wouldn't have faced if I read it a couple years back, but I was pretty much able to predict the two largest things that would happen by page 100 or before.
Overall, I really would recommend this book to younger readers, but even as an older reader I found the urge to keep on reading. As you can see I have two ratings one for younger readers (4/5) and one for older readers(3/5)!
www.bringingpaperback.weebly.com
Full Review: http://bringingpaperback.weebly.com/blog/me-before-you
This is literally such an amazing novel and I have no idea why it took me so long to get interested (maybe bc I was at summer camp who knows?) but this story was breathtaking and nerve wrecking and by the last few chapters I couldn't stop crying. Lou and Will are both such amazing people and overall this book touched my heart.
This is literally such an amazing novel and I have no idea why it took me so long to get interested (maybe bc I was at summer camp who knows?) but this story was breathtaking and nerve wrecking and by the last few chapters I couldn't stop crying. Lou and Will are both such amazing people and overall this book touched my heart.
Someone I Wanted to Be was not exactly one of my favorite reads. Although some points were enjoyable overall I was not given that kind of endless pull to read it or continue reading. I found Leah to be quite a likeable character but without the correct plot I just never connected with anything. It was like one of those movies you would watch at the theater and just sort of forget about.
I have to say that the ending was the most disappointing for me. It wasn't meant to be a cliffhanger (I don't think) but it left me asking ' what just even happened?' I was just clicking between pages on my kindle completely lost. Not very appealing.
My only liking to this book was that it really did touch on the teenage feel of life and some life problems and challenges which are clearly not easy to face or bring to the public eye. I liked that Leah was not just viewed as a 'fat' girl, but, to the reader, we could see all the troubles she faced whether it was at home, school, or with friends, Leah really did have a lot to go through which was really the biggest reason I finished the novel, to see if she could overcome her problems.
Overall everything felt too mediocre/ not attention grabbing which left me quite sad. However, feel free to pick this book up if a relaxed read is what you're into the mood for!
I have to say that the ending was the most disappointing for me. It wasn't meant to be a cliffhanger (I don't think) but it left me asking ' what just even happened?' I was just clicking between pages on my kindle completely lost. Not very appealing.
My only liking to this book was that it really did touch on the teenage feel of life and some life problems and challenges which are clearly not easy to face or bring to the public eye. I liked that Leah was not just viewed as a 'fat' girl, but, to the reader, we could see all the troubles she faced whether it was at home, school, or with friends, Leah really did have a lot to go through which was really the biggest reason I finished the novel, to see if she could overcome her problems.
Overall everything felt too mediocre/ not attention grabbing which left me quite sad. However, feel free to pick this book up if a relaxed read is what you're into the mood for!