Publisher: HarperCollins


Thursday, February 19, 2015

Review: Monstrous by MarcyKate Connolly

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I received this book for free from HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review: Monstrous by MarcyKate ConnollyMonstrous by MarcyKate Connolly
Published by HarperCollins on February 10th 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Middle-Grade, Retellings
Source: HarperCollins
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three-half-stars

The city of Bryre suffers under the magic of an evil wizard. Because of his curse, girls sicken and disappear without a trace, and Bryre’s inhabitants live in fear. No one is allowed outside after dark.

Yet night is the only time that Kymera can enter this dangerous city, for she must not be seen by humans. Her father says they would not understand her wings, the bolts in her neck, or her spiky tail—they would kill her. They would not understand that she was created for a purpose: to rescue the girls of Bryre.

Despite her caution, a boy named Ren sees Kym and begins to leave a perfect red rose for her every evening. As they become friends, Kym learns that Ren knows about the missing girls, the wizard, and the evil magic that haunts Bryre.

And what he knows will change Kym’s life.

This was a book that I was really excited to read. I didn’t like it quite as much as I had hoped, but it was really enjoyable. The characters were wonderful, especially Kymera. It was a bit predictable and long, but it was interesting so it kept me from getting bored with it. Even at its slow pace, the way things all came together was great and it was easy to get lost in.

Kym is a creation intended for the purpose of saving the sick girls from the wizard. She is very naive and only knows what her father has told her. She is happy with her mission and truly has a huge heart. She wants to do what is right and she wants to save everyone. She is also lonely. She can only go out at night, and just to rescue the girls. She isn’t supposed to be seen or talk to anyone. She can’t resist Ren though. It starts as curiosity, and then becomes a friendship. She begins to care about him and can’t help but want to see him even against her fathers warnings.

As Kym continues to take the girls, she also learns more about Bryre. She finds that there is a lot that her father is keeping from her and there is much more to things than she initially believed. This is a slow, but great adventure and secrets are slowly unveiled, though pretty easy to guess at. There is magic, dragons, friendship, lies, and of course love. I feel like this review doesn’t really say much, but there is not much I can say. It was a fun fairytale to get lost in, but if I say much I will give it all away. Even among all the evil there was also so much innocence. The end left me satisfied and I thought it was a perfect way to end a story such as this.

three-half-stars

3.5 Hot Espressos

Review: Better Than Perfect by Melissa Kantor

Review: Better Than Perfect by Melissa Kantor

Posted by on 02/16/2015 • 12 Comments

I almost stopped reading this book because I didn’t really like the MC very much. I am glad I continued it though because it really was a good book. I still never really liked Juliet much, but I thought that the story itself was well done and loved the subject matter that it covered. You know when you look at someone who is pretty, smart, has a perfect looking life and family? Well, who is to say that their life isn’t completely fucked up? That is what this story is about and that is why I enjoyed it. I don’t agree with some of the things that Juliet did, but it doesn’t mean that I didn’t think this was a really well told story, that holds a lot of important…

Review: My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

Review: My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

Posted by on 02/10/2015 • 16 Comments

My Heart and Other Black Holes delves into the lives of two suicidal teens who make a pact to be each other’s suicide partner. Yes, this novel is messed up and sad and shocking at times to think that someone would want a sort of motivational coach to make sure they achieve death, but suicide pacts do happen, especially with teens, so no matter how effed up this is, it is real and all too heartbreaking. Still, this book is supposed to be an emotional mess, and it really should be considering the subject matter and everything surrounding it, yet I found myself feeling a bit indifferent towards it all.

Suicide is a tough subject to execute in a novel, and while there are some realistic parts, the whole…

Review: The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand

Review: The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand

Posted by on 01/29/2015 • 23 Comments

The Last Time We Say Goodbye is the story of a girl who’s been left behind. Her family is broken, her heart is broken, and her life will now never be the same. After her brother dies, Lex is now defined as this tragic girl with a dead brother; someone to pity, or to avoid completely which is not uncommon in these scenarios – people are simply uncomfortable towards death. If this wasn’t enough for Lex to deal with, there’s these nightmares that make her relive it all nightly…

As you can expect, this novel is full of emotional turmoil. It’s dark and depressing, yet very powerful. Important, even. We’re dealing with death, grief, depression, denial, and everything in between, and these emotions are all very real and unflinching. Lex…

Review: Illusionarium by Heather Dixon

Review: Illusionarium by Heather Dixon

Posted by on 01/16/2015 • 15 Comments

Ah, Illusionarium, that new book coming to town with such a bad-ass name that simply screams wonder and magic and romance. With a cover like that, I had imagined myself fantastically flying through parallel dimensions while eyeing the handsome rose tucked behind my ear that a gentleman in a dashing tuxedo has given me.

…but alas, no… upon finishing this book, my fancy image shattered to tiny pieces, leaving only bitter disappointment behind. This makes me horribly sad, because I really do want to love this book. I’ve only heard great things about Heather Dixon and wanted to experience the magic of her words myself.

When I learned this would have a male hero, I was absolutely ecstatic. The Young Adult demographic is full of female heroines and we rarely see things…

Review: Beware the Wild by Natalie Parker

Review: Beware the Wild by Natalie Parker

Posted by on 01/09/2015 • 9 Comments

Objectively, Beware the Wild is really good. Subjectively, while I found it decent, I couldn’t really connect to it very much.

Don’t get me wrong, the writing is gorgeous. It’s very showing than telling, moving the plot along in a great pace while portraying the heroine’s personality and flaws exceptionally well. There were a lot of inner thoughts and monologues that give you front-row seats of the turmoils being stirred within her as Sterling finds herself in a situation where nobody suddenly remembers who her brother is, except, perhaps, the Swamp where magic and danger lie within. There is flow, and you could even say things happen “naturally” and nothing feels forced, but… 

I don’t know. It just… fell flat, for me, characterisation-wise. Is it normal to recognize the beauty…

Review: Bird Box by Josh Malerman

Review: Bird Box by Josh Malerman

Posted by on 01/08/2015 • 16 Comments

I was up til 3am to finish this. Holy fuuuuuu…! This was one hell of a crazy ride. I love horror and thriller novels, and this one kept me on the edge of insanity from beginning to end.

It began with strange news stories of sudden killing sprees ending in suicide. A LOT of suicides. From people who were good, happy, full of life. When more and more stories started to pop up, Malorie, once skeptical, started to get very very nervous. She only knows one thing, and it’s that it’s all caused by something you see. Something that your mind either can’t process or understand to such a degree that you lose your sanity. Which means to survive, you need to learn how to live…

Review: Things We Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby

Review: Things We Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby

Posted by on 12/25/2014 • 19 Comments

You know a book is really special when you’ve only just begun and you’re already overwhelming with emotions. Imagine, I’ve only read a few pages of this novel and my eyes were starting to water already. My little brother was even giving me a bewildered look as he saw me wipe my tears away with the back of my hand.

Le brother: What’s up with you? Me: This book… this book is… it’s just so sad…! Le brother: You’re crying over a book? Me: I’m not crying over a book. I’m crying over the characters in this book! Le brother: … you’re crying over a book. Me: Fuck you, you heartless bastard. You wouldn’t understand.

Pffft, brothers. Who needs them?

I’ve first read Jessi Kirby in Golden, a heart-warming and relatable story of…