Thursday, August 27, 2015

Review For Love Of Anna by James Lawless

The funny thing about this book is, is that I never heard about this book before until the author himself emailed me and asked me to review this book.
I do have to say, I know now why I never came across this book - it's more of an adultsbook than a YA/sci-fi/fantasy/whatever type of book. But I'm always open to new types of books, so I was very curious to discover what this story was about.
Afterwards, I feel like it was definitely not a bad read!


Summary

The story is about Guido van Thool who meets Anna, a ballet dancer, and falls in love with her. A real romance starts which is continually tested by the forces of life. For example when Guido is been called away for military service. But they always seem to get through it. Paralleling their lives is that of the corrupt judge Jeremiah Delahyde who got his high position and the power that comes with it because of his friend the minister Bartholomew Smythe. Their lives collide on New Year's Eve, when the drunk judge crashes into Anna with fatal consequences. And Guido swears revenge. 
But how can he beat such a powerful judge?


My opinion


Rate: 7.5/10

I actually quite enjoyed this book!
I do have to say, this is not my type of book, since it includes romance and well, yeah - no. Haha. But the thing is - the book isn't completely about the romance.
This book actually includes three strands: 1. the romance between Anna and Guido, of course, 2. the life of the corrupt judge Jeremiah Delahyde and 3. ANNA, an acronym of Anarchists of the New Age which kind of influences Guido's thoughts, I'd say, since he discusses the society and the government a lot throughout the book and he has an anarchist friend called Philippe who keeps goading him.
I really liked seeing these three strands coming back in the story, some more than the others. It did make me wonder what the actual point was of the book - was it mainly the lovestory that counted (how crazy love can make you, for example) or was it mainly the philosophical thoughts and the growth in them that counted or was it a mixture of both? 
I couldn't really get that out of the story.

And also, I kind of felt that some parts of the story dragged on, especially after the big plot twist. The impact of the events coming after that lessened in my opinion, because it took so long to get there. With the three strands combined, I was trying to figure out what the whole point was of the book and I got quite confused when the philosophical parts lessened after the big plot twist (it was understandable why, but still) and Jeremiah's perspective was nearly gone and I really liked his perspective, the perspective of a villian. The anarchism mentioned in the book wasn't as important or as crucial as I hoped it would be - it wasn't highlighted very much in my opinion, the romance seemed more important, which is not bad but I liked to see a bit more balance between the two.

BUTTTT. The story had some very great parts too.
Like I said, I really enjoyed reading Jeremiah's perspective, especially because of the fact that it's actually the complete opposite of Guido's. Jeremiah is the REAL villian and o so fascinating. His evilness, his corruptness, his disgusting intelligence shines through every thought he has and every word he says and everything he does and that's just amazing. He's such a strong character and I think Lawless has managed to make him so realistic and evil - hands down! 
Guido's perspective was, of course, interesting too, since he's a philosophy student and thinks a lot deeper and a lot more extensively than most others. And seeing those two perspectives on the society of Potence and the government and its power next to each other was very interesting to read. It wasn't like you had sympathy for them both - Lawless really made sure you would hate Jeremiah and love Guido - but you got the chance to understand them, both the "hero" and the villian.
Actually, I think all of the characters were strong and vivid, but Jeremiah was just the best of them all.

Other than that, I also really enjoyed the writing style in this book. It really set the mood.
It was very formal, but I feel like THAT is what makes you want to read it. It really fits the kind of philosophical and political background the story has. Besides that Lawless has managed to really make me feel what the characters feel. For example when Guido was at Anna's ballet performance, Lawless used such beautiful words to describe how Guido felt that I could literally feel it too. If words can do that with you, you just know it's a good book.

And lastly I want to say that I found the relationship between Guido and Anna cute and very realistic. It's quite shy and it develops slowly, but that kind of fits their personalities. They're both quite shy, Anna more confident than Guido though, and I can see that the relationship reflects their shyness, their personalities as a whole in some way and I love that about their relationship.

Well, that was it for today's blogpost! I want to thank James Lawless, the author of this book, for giving me this book to read and review and I hope you liked this review and found it a bit useful perhaps.
Until the next blogpost, then! :)

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Review Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

Fairytales.
We've all heard at least one fairytale in our lives. And those fairytales have taught us many things, like never give up dreaming or be yourself or something like those inspiring messages. Another thing those fairytales have in common are the happy endings. Cinderella ends up with her prince, Beauty ends up with her not-so-beasty-Beast and Sleeping Beauty awakes from her not-so-eternal sleep and marries the prince she fell in love with. Yay, all so happy.
But then you have the retellings and everything changes. EVERYTHING.
Suddenly everything you know from those good old fairytales becomes a lie or something bad or something burns or breaks or dies or or... It's very stressful.
And I love those retellings. Especially this one of The Wizard of Oz was awesome!



Summary

Amy Gumm lives a tough teenage life in Kansas. She's forced to live in a camper with her not-so-caring mom and at school her life isn't getting easier with people like Madison. 
But then her whole life is swept up by a tornado and she ends up in a land that only exists in fairytales - the Land of Oz. But this land looks different from the stories - it's close to completely falling apart. What happened? Dorothy.
Not much later, Amy has been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked and has been given a mission. She shall kill Dorothy.


My opinion


Rate: 8.5/10

Dorothy Must Die is a must read, people! (You see what I did there? hehe.)
This was such a fun read for me - I flew through the book like it was nothing but air.
The main character was real and human and I could relate to her thoughts and actions throughout the story. Her growth came natural to me - it didn't feel forced and she didn't become this invincible superhero, which made it even more realistic. Like I said, she was really human and you could see that humanity shine through her actions and thoughts and I liked that about her. I liked that she wasn't like many other protagonists.

What really amazed me about this book were the different settings with different characters this book went through, without it being too much or too vague. It wasn't like Amy immediately was some sort of "chosen one" who just needs a bit of training and then should defeat evil Dorothy - no, the process was slow, which, again, made the whole story much more realistic. And through that slow process she went through different settings with different people surrounding her, either helping her or making things difficult for her to reach her ultimate goal. But while she tries to reach her goal, she also learns more about Oz and you can see that her dedication for the mission and her trust in the Order are both being put through a test. Developments in the certain settings she's residing in at those times and friendships she grows there affect her in different ways, makes her do stupid or heroic things, whether it had to do with her mission or not. And I really enjoyed reading that.

Paige managed to give us so much in this book without making it seem like much. It seemed light and thin, but she did manage to leave me with the feeling like 'wait, this is all? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REST?!'. The ending was quite abrupt, in my opinion, and a lot of questions are left unanswered which makes me wonder if the next book will be able to answer all of them. Hmm... IT PROBABLY WILL.

Now getting into the "extra-stuff", the minor stuff, the tiny little details which have amused me or bothered me (in this case just amused me): 
I liked how the story still had that fairytale-touch. For example (*MINOR SPOILER*) the different training sessions Amy went through, whilst residing in the headquarters (it's actually an enormous cave that just has EVERYTHING) of the Order in which the witches gave her all different kinds of wisdoms.
And ooooo! - how I loved that sweet relationship between Amy and Nox. I liked that Paige didn't highlight it much - instead of making the story all about how Amy fights for her lover, she made sure that the relationship was nice and subtle, mysterious even. WILL THEY BE HAPPILY EVER AFTER OR NOT? (One of the many questions in my head)

But overall - I just loved this book. I do have my worries here and there, but I shall not think about those worries. I shall buy the second book and discover how this story will twist and turn. (Now imagine me saying that in a portly voice. hehe.)

That's it for this blogpost! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!
Until the next blogpost, then! :)

Thursday, August 20, 2015

The Disney Book Tag!

Last week I went to Disneyland and man, it was so fun! 
I literally felt like a four-year-old as soon as I stepped into the amusement park.
I freaked out when I saw the stuffed animals in the souvenirshops and couldn't stop smiling and jumping around when I was standing in line for one of those rollercoasters that scared me to death but were awesome anyway.
Okay, maybe I wasn't smiling all the time and maybe I wasn't jumping around, because 1 it was way too hot and 2 my feet hurt and 3 the lines were waaayyyyy too long.
But other than that - I had a great time.
And since I'm all Disney right now, I thought I'd do the Disney Book Tag, created by Katytastic! (Click here to see her video!)

1. The Little Mermaid - a character who's out of their element, a "fish out of water".

Definitely Juliette from the Shatter Me series. I haven't finished the series yet, but I've read the first two books and especially in the second book she's definitely out of her element. Instead of being used or locked up in a cell, she is forced to be around people, to train and to fight for justice. A bit difficult for someone who fears herself and isn't doing a good job in socializing.

2. Cinderella - a character who goes through a major transformation.

Meghan from the Iron Fey series definitely. She starts out as this scared little girl, not knowing what to do with everything she sees and discovers and turns into this badass heroine who makes tough, but wise, decisions and becomes this leader.

3. Snow White - a book with an eclectic cast of characters.

Damn. This is a difficult one. 
I think I'd say the characters from The Ember In The Ashes since all the characters, both main and minor, are very strong and you can see clearly how different they are.
You could say that every character is a different colour, since every character has a different personality. Yes, some colours are somewhat the same, but you can always see the difference in them.

4. Sleeping Beauty - a book that put you to sleep.

Tunnels by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams. It has been ages since I read the book, but I remember how much it dragged on and how it just managed to put me asleep, literally. I SHALL NEVER READ THAT BOOK AGAIN. (Unless I need to fall asleep.)

5. The Lion King - a character who had something traumatic happen to them in their childhood.

Alexa from the Defy series. I love love love this series, by the way.
But I mean, seeing your dad getting killed by a sorcerer is pretty traumatic in my opinion. 

6. Beauty And The Beast - A beast of a book (a big book) you were intimidated by, but found the story to be beautiful.

Well, here's the thing - I only look at the amount of pages of a book after I've seen  the cover and have read the summary of the book. And even if I see that the amount is high, I don't and I won't care. So. Yeah.
But I guess I found every book with over the hundred pages a lot when I was a kid and now a book of sixhundred or more would intimidate me. 

7. Aladdin - a character who gets their wish granted for better or for worse.

Allison from the Blood of Eden series. Again, another series I haven't finished (and probably won't finish :$). Although I wouldn't say it's really an all-time wish to want to live after you nearly got killed by rabdo's (which are like failure-vampires or sick vampires), she did want to stay alive, even if that meant becoming a vampire.
It was a difficult life, though, but eventually she managed to keep going. #inspirational

8. Mulan - a character who pretends to be someone or something they're not.

I guess Mare is the one who fits this one pretty well since she pretends to be a Silver when she's actually a Red with Silver-like powers. The funny thing was that I didn't understand that she was pretending to be Silver until a few pages, (a few chapters perhaps,) after that part. Yup.*facepalm*

9. Toy Story - a book with characters you wish would come to life.

The characters from An Ember In The Ashes! (The second time already, hehe) I loved all the soldiers - even Marcus and Zak - from BlackCliff and Cook and Lizzy and of course the main characters! I need you guys in my life right now.

10. Disney Descendants - your favorite villain or morally ambiguous character.

BUT I LIKE EVERY VILLAIN! I mean, I just think villains are so freaking interesting and fascinating and I'd love to read every book from a villain's perspective! But I think I'm going to give this one to... *drums* 
The Commandant of An Ember In The Ashes. I know, I know, this is the third time already, but come on, guys - she's the most horrible villain I've ever met and well, I love my horrible villains. (That might be because I'm a villain myself. SSHHH. DON'T TELL.)
And besides that - An Ember In The Ashes is just an awesome book, alright?

That's it for today, guys!
I'm not going to tag anyone to do this tag, but feel free to do this tag if you want to.
Until the next blogpost, then! :)

{ Picture used in this blogpost is from (WITHOUT EDITS): www.froot.nl }

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Review Legend by Marie Lu

Dystopian novels.
Always very interesting to read, since you're actually looking at a possible future for your own society. It wouldn't surprise me if one of these societies become reality.
When I got Legend for my birthday I was really pumped to read it, because - like I said in my review on Red Queen - I love stories about political games and wars and the government and that kind of stuff. 
But I do have to say; this book wasn't my favorite.

Summary

June - a prodigy, who seeks her brother's killer. 
Day - a wanted criminal, who tries to protect his family while trying to stay out of the hands of the Republic.
They meet accidentally, neither knowing each other's past, and are drawn to each other.
But Day killed June's brother. And June wants to avenge her brother's death...

My opinion

Rate: 7.5/10

Like I said - this book wasn't my favorite.
Now don't get me wrong - I DON'T hate this book. I just feel like it didn't have that wow-factor or that amazing plot or those amazing characters. I've seen a lot of these type of films and read a few of these type of books and this one just didn't stand out in the crowd. 
I found the characters quite flat - they weren't very complex or strong, but pretty cliché in my opinion.
The story's been told in two perspectives and I didn't feel that difference in perspective. Yes, they live in different parts of their society and so they think differently about their society, but other than that they're exactly the same. Maybe a bit too much the same. I get that that's probably the point, that even though they have different backgrounds and lives they're actually the same person, but I don't know - I just feel like even though that's the point, I think story would be "spicier" if you saw that strong difference between their beliefs and the fact that they're the same wasn't standing out so much - it would've made them a lot more realistic.
Just my opinion, you guys.
BUTTTTT, this book had definitely some good things too!
The construction of the story was nice - the author managed to and give you an insight in the Republic, the world she created, and to build up the tension in the story. Both were in balance - I didn't feel like I was only reading the story or only reading how their society came to existence. Of course, the story was highlighted way more than the Republic, but I do have a clear picture of how it must look like and how it must be living there.
This brings us pretty much immediately to the writing style which was very pleasant in this book! I could read this book very easily, and even though I didn't think this was the greatest story I've ever read, I found it a decent dystopian novel - it just had everything a dystopian novel should have.
I recommend this book if you'd like to read a dystopian novel for the first time!

That was it for this blogpost!
Until the next blogpost, then! :)



Thursday, August 6, 2015

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard!


Since my latest blogpost was a review on Aveyard's Red Queen, I felt obligated to write a blogpost about the sequel of this book, Glass Sword. The book isn't out yet - and it's killing me, LITERALLY killing me - but I do have some thoughts on this book I'd love to share with you guys!


The Story

First up - the story!
Now the story ended almost right after the big plot twist of this book and after the ending my mind kep spinning around possibilities for the next book. And, like that wasn't enough, Aveyard also put this new, and quite important, character in the ending and I was like: WHAAAATTTT. I'm obviously not going to tell you who that is, of course. Hehe.
But I found the first book amazing and I hope that the second one will amaze me just as much as the first one or maybe even more. I'm hoping for more of these amazing plot twists.

I do feel like there's a real war coming up and the battle between the Reds and Silvers is going to be a though one, a revolutionair one. Though it may not really seem like it and both might deny it, this war is more between Mare (and Cal) and Maven than between the Reds and Silvers, which makes me curious how it will turn out.
I have the feeling that Mare is going to be this strong leader who will stand up against Maven and his army, all professional and heroic, and Maven will fight back with full power, but other than that I actually don't have any idea what will happen. Like I said, my mind is spinning around possibilities, and they stay possibilities and not much more. I still have the feeling that Aveyard has another plot twist waiting for us, which makes it difficult for me to have a clear picture of the rest of the story.
All I can do is hope and keep on spinning, I guess.

So I hope that we do get something of the Silvers and not just Mare's hatred against them and against Maven, but something else too, something good, perhaps. Maybe some of them join Mare or she might get some sympathy for them. I just hope that they won't be fully stamped as enemies, because that would make it less interesting and the story much flatter. I like to see some conflicting thoughts about the Silvers, you know, just to spice things up. Knowing Mare's character, I believe that there is a chance that this will happen, although she'll probably deny it at first - it will take time.
And furthermore, the list of Reds with Silver powers both Mare and Maven carry around, how much will that be highlighted? 
I think pretty much, but where does that leave the war, which I think is going to come in the sequel? I'm kind of hoping that this list will bring Mare and Maven together, because I ship them, hardcore. Really hardcore. Maybe they'll be friends again? Or even more?
Maybe Maven changes?
God. So many questions for which I don't have an answer! AVEYARD, YOU ARE KILLING ME!
But I just got to have faith in Aveyard and hope she won't kill me even more with this sequel. And of course that she will write a third sequel. Duh.

The Characters

Ah, the characters! I'm curious about what will happen to them! Who will end up with who? Who will betray who? Who will be added to the story? How will they change the story?
I have no idea who the new characters might be, but I have my guesses. We're probably going to find more Reds with Silver-powers, but I don't think we're going to be introduced to all of them - it would probably make the story messy. But I do hope we're going to see most of them! What will they be like? Will they join Mare or will they decline her and tell her to get the hell out of here? Will they be strong Reds, or fearful like most of the Reds?

Another question that's burning in my head is: Is there going to be a new enemy? Who will betray Mare? (Those are actually two questions, but whatever.) 
Will one of those Reds betray Mare while she's on her way to kill the Silvers?
Will that newly introduced character in the first book betray her? 
I know, I know maybe that's a bit farfetched, if you know who this character is, but hey - from now on I don't trust anyone in that book. 
And are there still some nice Silvers out there? Maybe some sweet grandma's who want to help out and WON'T betray her? Or maybe another hot guy (though hot guys are most likely to betray her - they seem nice, but they always end up to be the bad guy. God. Still want to give it a shot, though.)? Or maybe this cute little kid with big blue eyes or something?
Hopefully.
MAYBE THEY CAN GET US JULIAN JACOS BACK! OR MAYBE JULIAN JUST COMES TO US!
You know, that instructor that helped Mare several times and left for some reason I can't remember. He was nice. Maybe he'll come back with Silvers like him? 
O, God, I miss him so much! #JULIANTHEHEROANDNICESILVERGUY

That brings us automatically to the old cast - how will they develop?
Let's start with the main character: Mare. She is determined to kill Maven, but won't everything that has happened to her ask their toll? She got a lot thrown at her and although she managed to sit it all through, maybe it will hurt her more now. Knowing her character she'll probably try to supress any sad feeling and try to use her past experiences in her advantage, but I'm still curious if it won't find its way to get out of the dark and objective corners of her mind and break her down. She is still a human after all (with badass superpowers). Especially her relationship with Cal - how will that affect both of them? Yes, they share the same hatred for Maven and want to kill him desperately, but how will their relationship influence their determination? Will it make things difficult for them? Or will they find their way back to each other? 
Or will they remain friends and Mare will end up with Maven again? I don't know why I ship Mare and Maven so much, but I just like them together, even though Maven is a *peep*. He still has a heart, right? Or at least he'll obtain one, right? Right?
I still think that there's something in Maven that knows that what he's doing is wrong and if Mare just finds a way to get that something to take control over him, he might change. He is just one of those guys who's darkened by jealousy and his mom, but that doesn't mean that there's no good heart on the inside. I RESIST TO BELIEVE THAT.
Although Cal might not think the same about that. WELL, CAL, YOU JUST SHUT UP, OKAY?
(Just kidding. I love you too.)
I think Cal is going to be the guy who will dive into revenge and will let himself be led by this feeling. He probably won't care to think his steps through when he gets a chance to kill Maven, whether Mare will try to stop him or not. 

But we're still not done with this love-rectangle: What about Kilorn?
Yeah, what about him? Good question! I actually have the feeling he won't be so important in the story as Maven and Cal, since he has been through different stuff which Mare wasn't part of and he doesn't have these strong feelings and problems as Maven and Cal, for as far as I know. He loves Mare - that's obvious - and he'll do anything to protect her, but if he'll be important in this fight? No, probably not. I feel the same way for any other additional characters like Farley or that new character - they will help her, protect her, give her advice every now and then, guide her in a way, but that will be about it.
The fight is mainly - like I said - between Maven, Mare and Cal. They've started it and now they'll end it. Hopefully. Unless someone tries to interfere. 
Things are going to get spicy as hell in this book!


The World

Ah, at last - the world!
I'm excited for what else we're going to see of Northa. What beautiful - or maybe not so beautiful - places are we going to visit? What will be going on in those places? How will those place affect the story?
Since Mare and her friends are fugitives now and they have to make sure they don't get caught by Maven and his army, I think she has to travel to new places. Cool places. Dark places. Historical places. I don't know.
I mean look at this map! Doesn't it look awesome? Don't you too want to see what the rest of the world looks like? Don't you want to see what a fantastic world Aveyard has created?
(I got this map from www.epicreads.com)






Well. That was a loooonnnnggggg blogpost! Sorry, guys, but I just had a lot to say, since I'm so freaking pumped for this sequel! I hope you enjoyed this blogpost - even though it was pretty long - as much as I did writing it. I was mostly grinning while writing, haha.
REAL FANGIRL OVER HERE AND I'M PROUD OF IT.
But well, I'm going to stop fangirling now and pretend I'm this quiet girl. If I can.
Until the next blogpost, then! :)

NOTE: Next week I won't be posting anything on my blog since I'm going on vacation!  


Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Review Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Oh, how I love stories about wars, power and political games and conflicts.
Now don't get me wrong - it's not like I want war in the world or that I like when people suffer or that I like to see how disgustingly smart people can be when it comes to war, it's more that it has so many interesting stories to tell. It's exciting, because you never know who's on who's side. You never know what's really going on, until later, maybe ten years after the war finished, if we're speaking of real wars. Sometimes you discover these strange, unbelievable things people have done to get profit from the war. But besides that these stories can be so mindblowing and so utterly interesting if they're well thought out. When I came across this book, Red Queen, I was immediately interested when the summary spoke of a girl who gets all the power in her hands and now has to decide what to do with it. I love those stories, because you can see what power can do to certain people and how power is used by these people. You can see how characters can turn into completely different persons and there's always one thing that tops it off perfectly - the betrayals, the unexpected ones in particular. 
I went into this story with not so big expectations, actually - I didn't think this story would be all about the nasty games people play in politics and about all this power that comes along with it. And it wasn't really about that.
But it was more awesome than I had expected.

Summary


Mare Barrow is a Red and like all the other Reds she lives under the rules of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers. And like most of the Reds, she knows she can't do anything about it - no matter how much she hates them.
But when she gets a job at the palace and accidentally turns out to be a Red with deadly powers of her own, which is a danger for the Silver's control, things start to change in her life. She obtains some sort of power, but how will she use it?
Who will win this dangerous game?

My opinion


Rate: 9/10

O. MY. GOD. This book, you guys, was AWE-SOME.
Aveyard created this cool world and great plot that made it hard for me to put this book down. I do have to say I didn't see much of the world she had created (I didn't see much of Northa as its whole), but what I saw was really cool. And I also thought the characters were okay - they were one dimensional and not so vivid, but they did definitely fit the story and made it interesting at times, especially the love-rectangle (yes, it's an rectangle) was quite interesting, although not really highlighted. It was more about Mare and her powers and choices and not about the love in this book, but love was one of the things that had put Mare in difficult situations and I liked that Aveyard used the love-concept in this way. It was love that made her make mistakes and made her do good things at the same time. 
But other than that I love love loved the plot-line Aveyard had created, which was probably more important than the characters themselves. I felt like it was more about everything that happens throughout the story and how those happenings influence Mare's life and somewhat the other characters' lives. It is true that it is Mare's choices that make sure these happenings happen (that sounds funny, hihi), but that makes her choices and their consequences important instead of Mare herself, although she did suffer or feel good about these choices and those choices did have effect on the other characters, too. 
(That was a long sentence, by the way. Damn.) 
So all these happenings accumulate and then near the end you get this other happening, a plot twist, that changes everything. EVERYTHING. And that makes you want to stick to the book.
The best way to describe reading this book is that it felt like walking down a road and each time you stop and look in the distance you see how the road kind of will look like. But then, when you start walking again and reach a certain point, you see that the road suddenly turns right. It is something different from what you had predicted and that was what amazed me so much about this book. 
I also liked the tiny things, like how I got to see how the Silvers live, their schedules, what they talk about etc. and how not every Silver was happy with the way they lived. And the training sessions were fun too, in which you could see battles and lots of magic, but also rivalry between most characters.
And like I said - that PLOT TWIST. OMG. 
In my opinion the book ended way too soon. The ending had me like: WAIT, WHAT? NO, WAIT. YOU CAN'T JUST END IT HERE. I NEED- I HAVE TO- I GOT TO-. AAARGGHHH.
I need that sequel kind of sort of right now. 

Well. I went a bit crazy today. Hehe.
I think I'm just going to turn around and eh... try to forget this. Yep.
Until the next blogpost, then! :)