Genre: Fantasy


Friday, July 31, 2015

Review: A Whole New World by Liz Braswell

Posted by 19 Comments

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

Review: A Whole New World by Liz BraswellA Whole New World by Liz Braswell
Series: A Twisted Tale #1
Published by Disney Hyperion on September 1, 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Retellings, YA
Source: Disney Book Group
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one-star

Welcome to a new YA series that reimagines classic Disney stories in surprising new ways. Each book asks the question: What if one key moment from a familiar Disney film was changed? This dark and daring version ofAladdin twists the original story with the question: What if Jafar was the first one to summon the Genie?

When Jafar steals the Genie’s lamp, he uses his first two wishes to become sultan and the most powerful sorcerer in the world. Agrabah lives in fear, waiting for his third and final wish.To stop the power-mad ruler, Aladdin and the deposed Princess Jasmine must unite the people of Agrabah in rebellion. But soon their fight for freedom threatens to tear the kingdom apart in a costly civil war.

What happens next? A Street Rat becomes a leader. A princess becomes a revolutionary. And readers will never look at the story of Aladdin in the same way again.

What a disappointment this book turned out to be.

You know, when I requested for this book, I did it because I was really, really expecting a Disney movie retelling (wait, is that even allowed? Isn’t there supposed to be some copyright thingy about modifying a well-known commercial masterpiece into something else? Can some lawyer clarify this for me, please?!) that would literally bring me a whole new world. You see, there is something that books can do better than movies – one of them is characterization. With a book, you can get into the deepest psyche of the characters and really get to know them in a more personal and intimate level; we’ll be able to know more why they feel a certain why or how their feeling or other external factors weigh in their actions and decisions.

Unfortunately, there was none of that here. The book relied on the fact we already knew Aladdin and Jasmine and Rafah and Jafar and then left it as that, portraying them instead as very one-dimensional characters with no substantial character development. Believe that the others say – 25% of this book is a cut-and-paste of the original movie, 75% is fanfic material. If you’re into that sort of thing, then this would be right up your alley. This book asked the question, “What if it was Jafar who got the lamp and the genie and the wishes?” Interesting question – I could come up with a thousand scenarios stemming from that, but the book just had to go towards the predictable, cliché route, with cardboard, uninspiring characters, to boot.

Like seriously, we don’t even really get to know Jafar’s story, or why he wished the things he wished, or why he was the way he was. This is about what if it were Jafar who got the lamp, and yet, there were no dedicated chapters about him? What the bloody heck?! We already know what Aladdin would have done if he got the lamp; since it’s going to be Jafar this time, why not give him more of the spotlight? Why do we have to have a rehash of this romance between Aladdin and Jasmine, which we have already witnessed in the fricking original movie, which we all have watched a million times already?! WHERE IS THE BLOODY FUN IN THAT?! I just don’t get it – here’s the chance to get to know Jafar and all the spotlight is on Aladdin and Jasmine. What we get then was a boring-ass antagonist who was evil because he was evil. And when it was the time to give us a reason why he was doing the things he did, it wasn’t from his perspective or anything, it was from the main characters themselves, talking amongst themselves why they thought he did what he did.

“Because that’s what he wants,” she explained. “More than anything, Jafar seems to want to be loved and admired – that’s why he has those parades, and gives all the coins out, and make those speeches from the balcony. He wants everyone, including me, to love him.”

What the heck?! Are you guys Dr. Phil now?!

giphy

I just found it incredibly lazy. It didn’t show us this development or these info, it simply told us just like that. And not from the POV of the antagonist, to boot! Uuugh…

Even then, let us do say that it was never intended to show a more complex side of Jafar. It was all meant to be for Aladdin and Jasmine and how they went their way to start a rebellion to take back the Sultanate of Agrabah. I’d still say it was disappointing as hell because like I previously mentioned, there was absolutely zero character development. Aladdin sees Jasmine for the first time and he falls in love. I know he kinda does the same in the movie, but I kind of expected more from this book, that it would at least try to give us a more meaningful and fulfilling romance. Sure, it had ample action, but without the emotional connection to the characters, how would I ever feel the tension and the urgency? Not to mention, the twists were so, so uninspiring that it felt anti-climactic. Like, wow, the great plan was to do BIG ACTION A in order to disguise STEALTHY ACTION B?! Hah, I so didn’t see THAT coming.

All in all, it was a disappointing book. As Emily May stated in her review, it feels like a fanfic, and I have to agree with her. You’re better off with watching the movie instead, at least it has songs.

one-star

1 Cold Espresso

Review: The Novice by Taran Matharu

Review: The Novice by Taran Matharu

Posted by on 07/24/2015 • 11 Comments

Definitely one of the most underwhelming fantasies I’ve read this year.

I was really excited for this after knowing it was originally a WattPad story. I always get excited when a book becomes published through unconventional means, because it means people like me who just writes stories for fun for others online can be discovered for the very reason our stories are simply good enough. And knowing it was a fantasy? Heck yeah, my favorite genre of the year, represeeent!

However, reading this book was like eating unseasoned, hard meat… it didn’t taste anything. It was bland and forgettable. I kept on chewing and chewing and chewing in hopes it would suddenly turn into a gourmet dish, but in the end, I swallowed it feeling. It didn’t bring anything new to the plate, nor…

Review: Reawakened by Colleen Houck

Review: Reawakened by Colleen Houck

Posted by on 07/17/2015 • 10 Comments

One word: WOW.

I seriously didn’t expect this to be so good. I thought I’d get an everyday run-of-the-mill mythology story featuring some unlucky ancient Egyptian schmuck, but what I got instead was an entertaining, refreshing, action-packed adventure that left me not only at the edge of my seat but also in tears and in stitches.

By the end of the book, I thought of one thing and one thing only: where’s the next book, I need an ancient Egyptian prince for a boyfriend, maybe if I get lucky I can enter some tomb and magically find a handsome mummy, this is what the mummy movies should have been (oops, I’m not committing some sort of heresy with that statement, am I?)

I’ve always been interested in Ancient Egypt – their culture, their values,…

Review: SRSLY Hamlet by William Shakespeare and Courtney Carbone

Review: SRSLY Hamlet by William Shakespeare and Courtney Carbone

Posted by on 06/30/2015 • 6 Comments

This book was all sorts of fun!! Another book from the OMG Shakespeare line and it’s full of OMG’s WTF’s and tons of emoji’s to make the story interesting. Like the previous book I reviewed, YOLO Juliet, it’s not a replacement for this classic, but a fun way to get people interested who might not be to begin with. I vaguely remember reading Hamlet in high school and I liked it well enough, but this made me want to pick it up and read it again. This tells the story well enough, though not completely. It’s a good start for those who don’t get Shakespeare, or find the writing hard to follow. I mean, it really is like another language. But so is this. A language that is modernized in…

Review: YOLO Juliet by William Shakespeare and Brett Wright

Review: YOLO Juliet by William Shakespeare and Brett Wright

Posted by on 06/23/2015 • 5 Comments

I admit, I loved reading the original Romeo and Juliet in school, but I know that for some people it isn’t something they enjoyed. I think that this was a fun way to get people interested in the basics of the story in a modern way. I thought the group texts and messages were entertaining. I especially loved all the emojis in it. I do have to say though, this is not a replacement for the original, but it was fun to read.

Everyone knows how the story goes. Star-crossed lovers ending in tragic death, but this book tells the story in a less morbid way. This is a kind of hard review to write since it’s not a typical book. I do think that for kids in school who…

Review: Ice Kissed by Amanda Hocking

Review: Ice Kissed by Amanda Hocking

Posted by on 05/29/2015 • 6 Comments

I’m sure you guys have seen my rather lukewarm review to the first book of this series. I was disappointed that the trolls here looked and acted like humans, and I hated some of what Bryn did at the end of the book despite her strong and amazing drive and personality. However, even with all these complaints, I still enjoyed the first book and was nervous to start the second one, lest it be lackluster.

Well, my doubts were surely unfounded because I actually… loved this. O_O

This time around, Bryn and Kasper were sent to the Kingdom of Skojare (imagine all blue and ice and sapphires) to assist in the investigation regarding the Queen, Konstantin, and the shadows lurking in the arena of Troll politics. And man, would it be…

Series Spotlight : Thrones & Bones Series by Lou Anders

Series Spotlight : Thrones & Bones Series by Lou Anders

Posted by on 05/26/2015 • 2 Comments

Today I am spotlighting the Thrones & Bones series by Lou Anders. It is getting closer to the publish date for the second book in the series, Nightborn. This is a fantastic MG series that I think many people will enjoy. I have not yet read the second book yet, but I am almost done with the first one, Frostborn, and am really enjoying it.

Frostborn is the first in the series, and so far it is great! The characters are interesting, but more than that, I love the visual imagery that I get from it. I can imagine the lands and the Giants, and everything that is going on. The story is wonderful and I am excited to continue on the adventure and see where…

Review: Becoming Jinn by Lori Goldstein

Review: Becoming Jinn by Lori Goldstein

Posted by on 05/21/2015 • 7 Comments

This book was quite fun. I loved the whole Genie idea, but having them live in the real world among others. I thought that the twist on how wishes work and how their powers worked was really cool. This is not your typical Aladdin type tale. It’s got all sorts of secrets, teen romances, drama, and fun. I really liked getting to know the characters and the history of the Jinn. It wasn’t my favorite book ever, but it was definitely one that I enjoyed and am excited for the rest of the series.

Azra was a character that I liked getting to know. She has never embraced her destiny as the other Jinn do. In fact, she just wants to be normal, even though that will never happen. She…