My November in Book Reviews

1. Anxious People

Synopsis:

A poignant, charming novel about a crime that never took place, a would-be bank robber who disappears into thin air, and eight extremely anxious strangers who find they have more in common than they ever imagined

Looking at real estate isn't usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. The captives include a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can't fix up their own marriage. There's a wealthy banker who has been too busy making money to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about to have their first child but can't seem to agree on anything, from where they want to live to how they met in the first place. Add to the mix an eighty-seven-year-old woman who has lived long enough not to be afraid of someone waving a gun in her face, a flustered but still-ready-to-make-a-deal real estate agent, and a mystery man who has locked himself in the apartment's only bathroom, and you've got the worst group of hostages in the world.

Each of them carries a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets, and passions that are ready to boil over. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. And all of them—the bank robber included—desperately crave some sort of rescue. As the authorities and the media surround the premises, these reluctant allies will reveal surprising truths about themselves and set in a motion a chain of events so unexpected that even they can hardly explain what happens next.

Humorous, compassionate, and wise, Anxious People is an ingeniously constructed story about the enduring power of friendship, forgiveness, and hope—the things that save us, even in the most anxious of times.

Review:

This is book is the best thing I've read in a while. And it has made it to my list of will-definitely-reread.

I love this kind of writing style, the one where you're both an outsider, and never know what the perspective completely entails, and an insider with a view of everyone's internal monologue. I think it's like [b:Little Fires Everywhere|51704136|Little Fires Everywhere|Celeste Ng|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1582774355l/51704136._SY75_.jpg|52959357] by Celeste Ng, and I loved the writing style in that as well.

This story was about a lot of things. But mainly, it was about idiots.

Idiots who live complex, yet realistic lives, idiots who fall in love, idiots who were cheating, idiots who regret things, idiots who love with all their heart, idiots who are parents, idiots who are children, idiots who are just trying their best; idiots, like you and me.

I would love to read Little Fires Everywhere like I did this one, with quoting all the things I loved. Which was a lot. Like a really big lot. At one point I was worried I was practising plagiarism, but to be honest, there was so much more besides my updates, and all of it could never be published like that.

Now, spoilers:

This book played me, and I'm glad it did. The bank robber was a woman, a possibility that never even crossed my mind. Not even once. I didn't even note that the perspective of the bank robber was written like that. The book plays on stereotyping, I think, with most people, like many of the characters themselves, assuming that the bank robber would be a man. And I'm glad it did, if only to enlighten me that no matter how much we try, every one of us does stereotyping. Maybe not as much as some extremes, but all of us do it.

I cried when Estelle died, and also when this ended. That ending.

The truth? It was beautiful.

The book also deals with suicide, and I loved the way it was done. I have no experience in this, but I felt it, if that makes sense. The way Jack loses someone, but saves someone else? And the way that life, and so many others are tied to the bridge, in that everyone considers it at some point?
It was beautiful.

Also, despite the serious themes it explores, this book is sprinkled with humour, the kind that makes you laugh out loud, and that makes other people stare. And I loved that.

(Brain: has your vocabulary shrunk to love and beautiful?
Me: Shut up.)

View Spoiler

I loved it, and I will be checking out other stuff by Fredrik Backman for sure! I would recommend it to people who liked Little Fires Everywhere, or a similar writing style, funny books with very philosophical narrating, multiple stories tying into one, and stories about idiots.

Because that's what it was about. Idiots.

2. One Of Us Is Lying

Synopsis:

Pay close attention and you might solve this.

On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High's notorious gossip app.

Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn't an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he'd planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who's still on the loose?
Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.

Review:

Well, the title is the one lying. They should probably have had a photo of the title with its face covered with paper, and then say that one of them is lying.

Because, no, despite what you might think, one of them wasn't lying.

They were all f*cking lying.

But aside from all of that, this was pretty good!

Why this review is taking me so long: It was pretty good, but at the same time, it's nothing that will stay with me, or that I'd like to read again.

Also, I'd much rather be writing the review for Girls With Sharp Sticks, because that I loved waaaay more, and I need to write it!

But, since I have rules, and I'm trying not to break them, here we are trying to write a review within 3 days of reading the book.

Okay, the mystery was pretty good. I did not guess the killer outright, but I was kinda there most of the time. Also, I mostly guessed the accomplices, so I'm not that stupid. I can work out some mysteries. (Brain: Yeah, right)(Shut Up)

The main problem with this for me was maybe that I've come to love adult mysteries, because there's just so many more possibilities. You don't expect a serial killer, or a suicide made murder, or faking deaths, or running away to a new life; all those things, they are not usually ever in YA or children's mysteries. Mainly, maybe, because these kinds of solutions to mysteries require greater planning and layers, and are easier to believe if they were executed by adults, rather than a high-schooler.

Another problem was the romance. Don't get me wrong, I love romance, but if there's something I'm vehemently against, it's insta-love. And it was there in this. Well-disguised, but there. And I was well on my way to not minding it because it was well written, when we had that unnecessary angst in the end. And that just pissed me off a lot.

Now, spoilers:

Simon, simon; what should I even say? This guy could have grown up to be a seriously good serial killer if he hadn't killed himself.

Joking, joking, don't look at me like that.

Is it okay to think it's good someone killed themselves? I don't think it is, but in this case, this guy would have done a lot more harm than just ruin four lives the way this was going. I don't know what else to say about the conclusion.

Oh yeah, almost forgot, Jake was someone I hated with a passion. That's it.

View Spoiler

Overall a nice book, but not one I'll be picking up again. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes mystery, high-school mysteries, gossip, slight romance, secrets, and liars. Heavy on the liars.

3. Girls With Sharp Sticks

Synopsis:

The Girls of Innovations Academy are beautiful and well-behaved—it says so on their report cards. Under the watchful gaze of their Guardians, the all-girl boarding school offers an array of studies and activities, from “Growing a Beautiful and Prosperous Garden” to “Art Appreciation” and “Interior Design.” The girls learn to be the best society has to offer. Absent is the difficult math coursework, or the unnecessary sciences or current events. They are obedient young ladies, free from arrogance or defiance. Until Mena starts to realize that their carefully controlled existence may not be quite as it appears.

As Mena and her friends begin to uncover the dark secrets of what’s actually happening there—and who they really are—the girls of Innovations will find out what they are truly capable of. Because some of the prettiest flowers have the sharpest thorns.

Review:

For the record, this book had been on my tbr since July 30th, but I started reading in a different edition, so here we are. No reason for writing this down, just that I thought it was already on my shelves, but I couldn't find it that day.

So.

Where do I even start?

Every person should read this book, if they can handle a bit of gore. For this book is not only about the sci-fi or the romance or really even the school. It's about girls in this society. And what's expected of them, what should be expected of them, and what should most definitely not be expected from them.

This book is written in such a way that it makes your skin crawl. it's first person POV, which was a bit of a disappointment, and frustrating, but it really adds to the horrifying aspect.

Because it's in that POV, we see how the girls themselves see gestures from men as nothing out of the ordinary. As if there's nothing wrong in a man staring at you two long, nothing wrong witth him touching you wherever he wants, talking to you however he likes; basically everything most girls have experienced, or at least knows to be sexual harassment and/or molestation.

We all know what all you have to watch out for, how you don't let them do some things, what's okay and what's clearly creepy; but these girls? They've never been in our world. They don't know all this. They've basically been bred like prize mares and raised to be good housewives, which basically means doing whatever your husband or investor wants. Anything.

And this is what's scary about this. That you know what should not happen for a girl to be safe, but you see a girl innocently and naively doing every single one of those things, in front of you, leading to situations you never want to be stuck in; basically it's like second-hand embarrassment, but instead of embarrassment, it's fear of what you never want to be in.

That's just the stuff that makes you scared. Other than that, this makes you angry. How dare a man talk like that to a girl? How dare he touch her like that? How dare he not prepare her for the world? How dare he starve her and keep her on a diet, but eat whatever he wants himself? How dare he expect that she'll roll over and take it?

Because even if you give none of the ideas of equality and rights to a human, not even a girl, they'll always yearn for it. And if they're denied, they'll fight for it. With sharp sticks.

Now that I've finished with my rights speech, let's move on to the review's spoilers:

A tiny bit more of the right speech (please don't hate me) but something I loved was that even though they basically made women, made all of their thoughts and stuff like they wanted, and basically ended up with bland women who no one wanted. Did the irony just go over them? I mean, look at this:

“You all have your purpose,” he says, “your roles to fill. We find it’s simpler that way—a tailor-made girl for each investor.”

“And why not boys?” I ask. “Why create just girls?”

“You’re young, beautiful girls. You’re a commodity—a product. You’re nothing more than cattle. But a strong young man . . . That would be dangerous. That was determined pretty early on. They would have been a threat, not just for the competition with other men, but for a potential uprising. They were too volatile.”

“You think only boys know how to fight back?” I ask.

“Then you’ve seriously underestimated us,” Sydney adds, coming to stand next to me.

“I realize that,” the doctor allows. “But we’ll be sure to write this defiance out of your program. We should have done it the last time.” He picks up a pen from his desk to fidget with it. “You see,” he says, “the first girls we created were well-behaved. Obedient. Vapid, if I’m honest.” He frowns.

“And because of that . . . lack of spirit”—he flourishes his fingers—“investors were bored. You can’t show off a boring granddaughter. You wouldn’t hang a mediocre piece of art in a museum. You can’t break a tamed horse.”

“Your parents—your investors—are a bit of a mystery to me,” Dr. Groger admits, tilting his chin up. He’s understanding the power he now has in the conversation and is freely using it. “Their intentions are unclear, especially since your design was so extensive. Very complicated. So much empathy and memory retention, but also humor and intelligence. You were flawed from the start. They wanted you to be too . . . real.”

...

“Why did you destroy her?” I ask, devastated.
“Because she wouldn’t go back to sleep,” he says. “Her programming had become corrupted, and her thoughts were like a virus. They had to be eradicated before spreading to other systems. Other girls.”

...

“You wouldn’t,” the doctor says to her, his jaw clenching. He turns back to us. “Girls,” he says. “Killing the Guardian is one thing. I can understand—he’d been inappropriate. But I’m your doctor. I’ve kept you safe these past years. You can’t hate me. You can’t feel anything you weren’t programmed to.”

...

“Here’s the lesson, girls,” she says, not looking at us. “These men are weak. They think they created you, but you created yourselves. Their programming may have been the start, but you’ve adapted. You’ve learned. And yet, they still try to control you because they’re scared of you. Scared of your potential.”

...

“And where will they go?” Dr. Groger asks, blood staining his shirt where he’s wounded. “What society would want these creatures walking among them unannounced? What’s next? A rights movement? Please,” he says, disgusted. “I gave them life. They should appreciate it. They should be grateful. They should—”

...

“Most girls,” he continues, looking through an area near Annalise’s hairline, “we incinerate. Bodies rot, you see. Your bodies are completely organic—human organs grown from scratch. Men didn’t want to touch synthetic materials.”

Gratefel? Men didn't want to touch synthetic materials?

They literally tailormade them, and were dissatisfied because they were too much like men?!?!?

Sorry, rant over, I promise.

Uhhhmmm, I have nothing else to say.

(this is so embarrassing)

I am glad Lennon Rose is alive. And Winston is a good person? The jury's still out on that.

View Spoiler

One thing that I've read in other reviews and that is a pretty good point which I'd like to include in my review as well is that all of the men are villainised and all women were victimised more or less. And that is a really good point. But

Leandra was more or less a villain most of the time, and I still don't completely trust her.

View Spoiler

Well that brings us to the end of my seriously long review which was mostly a rights speech, and to any brave souls who stuck to the last, sorry for boring you.

A wonderful book which I don't think I'll reread, but loved. And I recommend it to anyone who likes sci-fi, girls' schools, dystopia, feminist books, and scary-but-not- horror books. I can't wait to start the next one!

4. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Synopsis:

A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget.

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.

Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.

Review:

I.....just loved it!

The romance was horrible. I could have done without all of it, and I would have still loved this. Not only because it was really confusing, because boy was it confusing, but it was just shoved into the story when the MC didn't need anyone. I would've loved really good friendship more than the main romance, or is it romances?

Yes, you read that right, it is kinda a love triangle, but not really? Like I said, confusing. I can't exactly say a lot without spoilers, so:

Was there even a romance in this? The feeling I got was that, 1) Addie hates Luc, and she's still plotting against him, and 2) She was lying (if I read that right) to Henry when she said she loved him. I would have loved if we just had a Henry/Addie friendship, since that was the only part of their relationship that made sense, and her outsmarting Luc once Henry was free.

Since we're on the topic of spoilers, I should probably include that I wanted way more from that ending than I got. I would have liked an epilogue where we just see Addie free again. Nothing else. I don't even want to know if Henry is alive, or how she outsmarted Luc; I just want a happy ending.

View Spoiler

The first 2-3 chapters were confusing, and slightly boring, but if you stick through, it does get better (or at least, it got for me). At first, I didn't get the time skips, and the museum pieces, but slowly they made sense! I'd like to say I learnt a lot from The Night Circus , and made sure to read the chapter titles. That saved me from even more confusion.

What else, what else.....The writing was beautiful. I felt Addie's pain, I felt her heartbreak, I felt her despair, I felt her happiness, I felt everything. That's one of the things I love about Victoria Schwab, and I'll be reading more books by her for sure.

The best word to describe Addie's life before 2014 is probably depressing. It's like nothing, absolutely nothing is going right for her. That scene in 1714 with her parents and friends? That was devastating, and I was probably crying. No, scratch that, I was definitely crying.

During 'I Remember You', the seventh part, I was once again trying to read through blurry eyes, trying to read without wailing, because that ending with Henry was just beautiful, and I liked that we came full circle with the book.

The girl who no one could remember known by an entire generation of readers everywhere? Yeah I was sobbing.

View Spoiler

I loved it, and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes the concept of Faustian bargains, loopholes in those bargains, girls who dream of more than their fixed lives, people who just want to be liked, friendships, relationships, despair, devastation and Death with a capital 'D' (I think).

5. Dark Triumph

Synopsis:

I lean forward, pushing my body out past the battlements. The wind plucks at my cloak, buffets against me, as if it would carry me off in flight, just like the birds or the knight's soul. Let go, it cries, I will take you far, far away. I want to laugh at the exhilarating feeling, I will catch you, it whistles seductively.

The convent has returned Sybella to a life that nearly drove her mad. Her father's rage and brutality are terrifying, and her brother's love is equally monstrous. When she discovers an unexpected ally imprisoned in the dungeons, will a a daughter of Death find something other than vengeance to live for?

Review:

I don't even know why I like like this one.....it had insta-love, it was a sequel to a book I didn't love, it had a not-that-good cover(honestly, I would have never picked this just from the covers), it was way too fast and at the same time really slow....but here I am, giving it 4 stars and ready to pick up hte next book in this series.

It probably stems from the fact that this book dealt with trauma a lot better, I think? And the revelations were actually pretty surprising!

I got that she was more or less raped many times over, but that she was pregnant and actually gave birth was not something I had guessed. And I hated the way her family was treating her in this.

View Spoiler

Also, Beast was really likable! Like my friend Brinley said, the fact that the love interest was portrayed as ugly, and then stayed ugly, was really good(Brain: That's the only synonym you could think of?)(Me: Shut Up) I mean, it didn't even turn to finding-beauty-in-the-ugliness or anything, she keeps thinking of him as ugly, and that change is jarring but refreshing!

I somehow loved this way more than the first one. Maybe because we were removed from a lot of the action, but not completely? This one was way more personal, and I think that was also a reason. The characterisation of Sybella did seem quite different from the first book, but I liked her better in this, so I'm just gonna ignore that.

I also liked that we got snippets of Ismae and Duval, because I did like them in the first one, and I was so happy we got the Duchess! Even though she was only there for a little while, I was just so happy!

You will not believe the joy that descended on me when d'Albret died. I was so happy (Brain: That's the third time; what a vocabulary)(Me: *glares*) that the guy is dead, and I'm glad he's not even welcome in Hell, or Heaven, or whatever (the Afterlife?), because that was a good explanation for the lack of marque, and I was worried he might still stay alive because of it.

View Spoiler

Julian is someone I had very mixed feelings about.

On the one hand, he raped her and got her pregnant, and the child died, and he was still trying to have sex with her; and on the other, he came through in the end. I don't know, I find incest disturbing and disgusting, and it seemed like this was only happening because of lack of sex education, but can I forgive him for that? Is the father at fault here? Probably. But that shouldn't mean he can do what he wants? Maybe he mistook one type of love (sibling-ly) for another(lover-ly), but wasn't this kind of thing common knowledge? I still don't know, and probably never will, so Julian? You're half-forgiven until further notice.

View Spoiler

Also, could someone please explain battle rage/lust/fever? It sounds from the descriptions like they're possessed or infected, but it's like a mood or something?

Well, I loved it, and I recommend it to anyone who read the first book and had mixed feelings about it. If you liked the first one, you are really likely to like this one. But if you didn't, give this a chance. Thank you Brinley for telling me the same :)

6. The Best Little Christmas Shop

Synopsis:

Come home for Christmas to the Best Little Christmas Shop – the snowiest, cosiest place you can be!

Home for the holidays…

Icing gingerbread men, arranging handmade toys and making up countless Christmas wreaths in her family’s cosy little Christmas shop isn’t usually globe-trotter Lexi’s idea of fun. But it’s all that’s keeping her mind off romance. And, with a broken engagement under her belt, she’s planning to stay well clear of that for the foreseeable future…until gorgeous single dad Cal Martin walks through the door!

Christmas takes on a whole new meaning as Lexi begins to see it through Cal’s adorable five-year-old son’s eyes. But, finding herself getting dangerously close to the mistletoe with Cal, Lexi knows she needs to back off. She’s sworn off love, and little George needs a stability she can’t provide. One day she’ll decide whether to settle down again – just not yet.

But the best little Christmas shop in this sleepy, snow-covered village has another surprise in store…

Review:

Not one of my favourites from Maxine Morrey...

Overall, the book is just awesome! We have angst, we have pining, we have hot love interest who also has a really cute son; I mean, what's there to not love?

The answer is, probably nothing except for the writing and execution in some places. I felt this could have been a lot shorter, and with way less denial. It was also a bit of insta-lovey, but more or less made up for it?

I also didn't like the constant what-is-masculine-what-is-feminine-our-MC-is-definitely-too-masculine-to-be-feminine-or-is-she because that was getting on my nerves, and feeling pretty sexist. I'm sorry, but it did.

I loved the Christmas part of this, though it was pretty less in this book. I've loved this aspect of almost all of the Maxine Morrey books I've read with Christmas, which is not a lot, but I'm going to read more!

I'm definitely going to read others by her, and I'd recommend this to anyone who likes rom-coms, Christmas, hot love interests with small kids, slight previous love interest drama, and fluffy angst. (is that an oxymoron? I don't care)

7. One Of Us Is Next

Synopsis:

Come on, Bayview, you know you've missed this.

A ton of copycat gossip apps have popped up since Simon died, but in the year since the Bayview four were cleared of his shocking death, no one's been able to fill the gossip void quite like he could. The problem is no one has the facts.

Until now.

This time it's not an app, though—it's a game.

Truth or Dare.

Phoebe's the first target. If you choose not to play, it's a truth. And hers is dark.

Then comes Maeve and she should know better—always choose the dare.

But by the time Knox is about to be tagged, things have gotten dangerous. The dares have become deadly, and if Maeve learned anything from Bronwyn last year, it's that they can't count on the police for help. Or protection.

Simon's gone, but someone's determined to keep his legacy at Bayview High alive. And this time, there's a whole new set of rules.

Review:

Well, the only word that comes to mind is disappointing.

Not to say this was a bad book. Or that it didn't have a good mystery. Or even that it was exciting. Maybe this would have been better received by me had it been a standalone, or just separate from the first book.

It's just, in the first book, we had our mystery in the first two chapters. We were immediately thrust into the story, which is sometimes a no-no for me, but it was done pretty well. Here we just went on and on about our new characters, and our old characters, and what they're doing, and why they're doing it, and it was just boring. Maybe if I wasn't expecting this to be written in a similar style to the previous one, I would have liked it better, but this just wasn't working for me.

Another thing was that in the previous one, at least it was slightly believable? Yes, it was pretty implausible, but in theory it could have happened because it was pretty realistic. Here, the mystery is completely beyond you. I mentioned in my review of the last one that the mystery would have been slightly better suited to an adult novel, or at least one in which the characters themselves were adults, and it was outside of a school setting, but here it was worse. I could still have rolled with the previous one, but here it was just out of the box. Not in a good way.

Also, the first one's synopsis clearly says, quite truly, I might add: "Pay close attention and you might solve this.". That was something I liked about that one. There was a pretty good chance you'd come to the conclusion yourself. Here, the conclusion was just completely out of nowhere. There were little to no chances that you could solve it, because this was written in a completely different style, where we weren't given the chance or the resources to solve it. What I like in a mystery is that there is a possibility you could solve it. That's what keeps you engaged and on your toes, that you could solve it. That just wasn't there in this book.

At least in the first one, we could guess somewhat as to who was involved. In this, the murderer turned out to be someone we have zero interactions with, and that just made it fall flat for me. I just didn't like it.

View Spoiler

I felt Luis was pushed to be a main side character, and that was unneeded since we were shown completely different character in the first book, so he just seemed really OOC. Similarly, I liked that we were given more about the characters of the last book, but they were just hanging too much into the plot, if that makes sense?

Of the many other things that bothered me, one of the main was that

Maeve kept her cancer a secret. Or at least the fact that she might have had a relapse. There is a limit to the things one should keep from family, and deadly diseases that you might be having a relapse for is above it. I just cannot get onboard with keeping a disease such as leukemia a secret. I get that she doesn't want to go through all that again, I get it, but a disease that gets progressively worse in a pretty short time is serious. Especially when it's pretty curable in the early stages, compared to what happens when you delay it. I just didn't like it. At all.

The other thing was the way this ended. The reason we ended up with such a mess in the first place, was because Brandon, a minor, didn't face any consequences for what was a very serious mistake. I get that he's a minor, I get that people can change, but zero consequences? In a mistake that cost someone's father and husband? And then he goes on to date his daughter? No shame? No guilt? No consequences?

And after all that monologue about how there should be some consequences, how none of this would have happened if there were, you literally let off another minor, who made an equally if not more stupid mistake, with no consequences?!?!?! I get the sisterly protection, I even get that maybe bringing him into courtly affairs could be avoided, and I'm glad they did, but then we should have gotten an ending, or an epilogue, where there are some consequences. Minors not going to jail because of murder performed in self defense of any variety? Good! But minors not going to jail, or facing any consequences because of something they more or less knowingly participated in? Not good.

I know there's no real way to know how guilty or how innocent a minor might be, but we should at least have gotten to see Owen realising his mistake, and atoning for it in some way.

This is actually why I postponed writing this review, I thought I would go overboard with my hate for the ending, but I guess the waiting did nothing to help with that.

View Spoiler

Also, why are there four faces on the cover if there are only three perspectives? Who's the fourth one?

There was also this whole drawing parallels with the first book, how some character from the first one is almost the exact same character in this one. I'm not even saying I was the one drawing parallels. The book was literally drawing parallels. I kid you not.

On the whole, I definitely wouldn't say I enjoyed this by any means, but it was okay. A good book if you're looking for more of the characters from the first book, and an okay mystery.

8. Wildcard

Synopsis:

Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Now that she knows the truth behind Hideo's new NeuroLink algorithm, she can no longer trust the one person she's always looked up to, who she once thought was on her side.

Determined to put a stop to Hideo's grim plans, Emika and the Phoenix Riders band together, only to find a new threat lurking on the neon-lit streets of Tokyo. Someone's put a bounty on Emika's head, and her sole chance for survival lies with Zero and the Blackcoats, his ruthless crew. But Emika soon learns that Zero isn't all that he seems--and his protection comes at a price.

Caught in a web of betrayal, with the future of free will at risk, just how far will Emika go to take down the man she loves?

Review:

I LOVED IT!!!!

I can't believe this. I have nothing to say.

I loved that we got to see more of Warcross in this one; I was worried we would be completely cut off from it. I would have loved to see more, but I'm happy with what I got.

One of my favourite things about this one was that we got to see even more of the side characters! We had more of Roshan and Tremaine, Asher and Hallie, and our new characters Sasuke and Jax! I loved the way we went into backstories for nearly all of them, and I enjoyed every single one!!

The story behind Sasuke was nothing like what I had expected, though that might be because I had expected nothing concrete.

I had not imagined the terminal illness and subsequent experimentation?!?!?! It seemed completely out of the blue since we were given like zero evidence for something like this in the first book, but I liked it anyway. I loved Jax, and the way she was friends with Sasuke, though I was shipping them together too! I was really glad when she turned out to be on their side, more or less, and I loved that she protected Hideo in the end.

View Spoiler

Hideo was someone I had conflicting feelings about

On the one hand, I LOVE HIDE, on the other, HE'S DOING WRONG. I love Emika with Hideo, and I'm really glad that ending is a hopeful kinds thing because I was shipping these two so much!?! I'm glad he saw the mistake in his ways more or less, because I was losing hope! I wanted more of the relationship with Sasuke and Hideo, since we didn't get a lot of content on that front.

View Spoiler

One thing I didn't like a lot in this book was that Emika seemed really.....small? in this one? I odn't know how to say it, but in the first one we got a lot of badass Emika with her skills, but in this one it was pretty glossed over at times, and there just wasn't that kind of content in this. I loved the descriptions of Warcross in the first book, and that wa spretty lacking in this book, but it was still pretty good!

The ending, well what can I say, IT WAS AMAZING!!! Yes, it was a bit ambiguous, but I loved it all the same!

I am just so happy that Emika and Hideo have something to look forward too! I was really sad when it seemed like the era of Warcross was over, and everything would go back to what it was, or like what it is in this world more or less, and I'm glad that Warcross has a future, thankfully and hopefully in the hands of more people that would not let it become what it became.

View Spoiler

I really loved it, and I'm pretty sure I will reread this series in the future! I recommend it to anyone who read Warcross and decided not to continue with the series, though, fair warning, you might not enjoy it as much as the first one. And thanks to Brinley, who told me to read it and weep. I wept, alright ;)

9. Legend

Synopsis:

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Review:

I'm not exactly sure why this is 4 stars and not 5...

Let me start out by saying this book was amazing!!! I really loved Marie Lu's writing in this one, but I think I liked Warcross more somehow. It had two badass leads, a kinda enemies-to-lovers trope, the secret-identity trope, the vigilante-trying-to-save-everyone trope, quite some insta-love and an intriguing plot.

All the above mentioned tropes are among my favourites; if you haven't guessed, I love Spiderman fanfiction. The enemies-to-lovers was pretty compressed, but nicely done. The badassness was really well done; I loved Day's fighting skills(also June's for that matter) and June's intellectual prowess(again, Day's was pretty well done too).

I also love Sherlock fanfiction with Sherlock POV, which has all that thinking process which seems pretty disjointed, but is actually pretty smooth, and that was something I found similar to June's POV. The seeing everything and small pieces of a bigger picture, and deducing everything to know about someone, especially when she's sizing up people she's going to fight; those scenes were really well written!

I think my main problem was the insta-love. It wasn't even that bad, but it just didn't resonate with me. I've given worse insta-love better ratings, but in this case I'm not exactly being able to put my finger on what it was. I think I was liking it, but the ending put me off a bit? I'm not sure. I think the first kiss also played a role.

I really liked Tess, and I'm just really hoping she doesn't turn out to be a Prim or a Rue, because I don't want to cry like that again. I hated the commander, and also Thomas. The nerve of that guy?!?!?! I liked Kaede, but I don't completely trust her or the Patriots....I have a feeling they will turn out to be like District 13. I loved Ollie, and I'm hoping we see more of him in the next one, though he's probably going to be killed or something.

This book surprised me a bit, I didn't expect

June to run with them; I was expecting her to stay back undercover, seducing Thomas and placating the Commander, all the while plotting behind their backs. But I'm glad it didn't turn out like that in the end.

View Spoiler

On the whole, a wonderful read, and I can't wait to read the next one! I recommend it to anyone who likes Marie Lu(though I've only read the Warcross series), fantasy, dystopias, little insta-love, plagues, the above mentioned tropes, and badass leads.

10. Lady Smoke

Synopsis:

The Kaiser murdered Theodosia's mother, the Fire Queen, when Theo was only six. He took Theo's country and kept her prisoner, crowning her Ash Princess--a pet to toy with and humiliate for ten long years. That era has ended. The Kaiser thought his prisoner weak and defenseless. He didn't realize that a sharp mind is the deadliest weapon.

Theo no longer wears a crown of ashes. She has taken back her rightful title, and a hostage--Prinz Soren. But her people remain enslaved under the Kaiser's rule, and now she is thousands of miles away from them and her throne.

To get them back, she will need an army. Only, securing an army means she must trust her aunt, the dreaded pirate Dragonsbane. And according to Dragonsbane, an army can only be produced if Theo takes a husband. Something an Astrean Queen has never done.

Theo knows that freedom comes at a price, but she is determined to find a way to save her country without losing herself.

Review:

I liked it, I guess.

I wasn't particularly excited for this, because of the love triangle, and I was rightly worried. The love triangle played a pretty big role, and I still don't like Blaise. Honestly, for me, it's either Soren or no one.

Other parts of this book.....searching for a suitor was a really interesting part of this, and I loved it. Except for the deaths.

Why did Hoa have to die?!?!?! Why?!!?? And the guy who she was going to marry, that brother(can't remember his name), why did he have to die!?!? Things were going perfectly alright, and then you had to go on and kill him.

View Spoiler

Also, I loved the meeting the rebels part of this. And the part where Erik came back. In fact, all the scenes with Erik. And the ones with Erik and Heron. Oh God, those were the best!!! I really don't care a lot about Theo's romance at this point; I'd just like to see Heron and Erik together.

The Kaiser and the Kaiserin...what should I even say?

I didn't like that the Kaiser died so...underwhelmingly. And Cress was the one to kill him. I really wanted a good scene with Theo killing him, but, well, beggars can't be choosers. (Brain: I don't think that saying was the correct usage)(Me: I don't care, it sounds nice)

View Spoiler

About the ending

I am pretty curious about what will happen to Theo, and what she will do with her powers. I also really want Soren back. So, I just really want minimum drama, and maximum badassness from the next one.

View Spoiler

I am eager to read the next one, and I hope it doesn't have even more of that love triangle; I'm sick of it. Also, I really want Theo to come to terms with her powers, because this constant denial isn't working for me. It's pretty obvious since the first book, but still it takes her so long to accept the possibility that she might have powers.

11. Girls With Razor Hearts

Synopsis:

Make me a girl with a razor heart…

It’s been weeks since Mena and the other girls of Innovations Academy escaped their elite boarding school. Although traumatized by the violence and experimentations that occurred there, Mena quickly discovers that the outside world can be just as unwelcoming and cruel. With no one else to turn to, the girls only have each other—and the revenge-fueled desire to shut down the corporation that imprisoned them.

The girls enroll in Stoneridge Prep, a private school with suspect connections to Innovations, to identify the son of an investor and take down the corporation from the inside. But with pressure from Leandra, who revealed herself to be a double-agent, and Winston Weeks, an academy investor gone rogue, Mena wonders if she and her friends are simply trading one form of control for another. Not to mention the woman who is quite literally invading Mena’s thoughts—a woman with extreme ideas that both frighten and intrigue Mena.

And as the girls fight for freedom from their past—and freedom for the girls still at Innovations—they must also face new questions about their existence…and what it means to be girls with razor hearts.

Review:

Let me start out by saying that I am horrible at giving books low ratings.

That's all that GR saved of my four paragraphs of this review that I had started to write. I am so pissed. I want to throw a fit. Why didn't this save my rant. Now, I'm going to give this an even worse review because this just pissed me off more.

Let's start.

I am horrible at giving books low ratings. I feel guilty giving books two stars when I didn't completely hate them. That's why this has three stars.

The main problem with this was probably that the style changed so much in this one. I'm particularly sure what exactly changed, but there was definitely something.

In the first book, we were at Innovations Academy which was an isolated environment, which we could not relate too. There was little to no interaction with the outside world, and so it was believable. In this book however, we are at a high school. Which is a pretty relatable environment. But not in this book, for some reason. I get that this is supposed to be a dystopia, but still.

This difference is especially jarring when you consider that this book seems to be a canon divergence rather than an alternate universe. Canon being our world. I might not have been to a lot of schools, but the impression I've always got is that girls are always the favourites of teachers. They're the ones who do the little jobs for the teachers; getting something from the staff room, organising something, taking care of a lower class; you name it, there will always be a girl in the teacher's mind who will do whatever needs to be done with grace.

Girls are always more participant in classes, they will always form groups, whether they might be only three of them, and they all have this pact of having each other's backs when it comes to harassment. Again, I'm only speaking from personal experience, but I've found this to the case in a lot of places. I've changed a few schools in my life, changed cities, and I've always found this to happen.

But here, in this world? There is nothing like this. The teachers hate the girls. All of them, there are zero exceptions. They especially hate Sydney, who's black. Which, by the way, I did not realise until the start of this book. Maybe I missed a description somewhere, but it was suddenly made so obvious and pushed into your face, and in the first book it was like no one cares.

The teachers and students in this school are blatantly racist, which admittedly I'm not in any position to comment on. But I will say this, in the books I have read with black characters, I have never seen this kind of reaction. Again, I'm not in a position to comment, but I would like to point out that this kind of thing does not happen in other books Also, I might not have read that many books with black characters, so take this unrealisticness as pointed out by me with a grain of salt. I might be completely wrong in thinking this kind of racism does not happen, and if that is the case I'm very sorry for not being aware. Let me know if that is the case.

Continuing with the unrealisticness in this, we had really horrible boys. And completely unsupportive girls. Some boy puts a girl's hands on his crotch in a public cafeteria where evreyone is watching, when the girl is also outright crying, and no one intervenes!??! No boy thought to interverne?!?!! No girl thought to intervene!?!? No supervisor thought to intervene?!?! Aren't there people like teachers in your cafeterias!?!? And then when a guard or something does come, they do nothing about it?!?!

I felt that the author tried to continue with the theme of showing us an extreme, with us and the girls not being able to do anything, but it went wrong because of what I said earlier; this book is not set in an isolated unrelatable environment, which makes it seem unrealistic. I'm not saying the first one wasn't unrealistic. But because it was in an isolated environment separate from the world as we know it, it was plausible.

Another thing that I didn't like in this book: You know those not well written stories where multiple characters say the exact same thing at the exact same time as if it were rehearsed or they could read each others minds? You know how that's really irritating? That they come to the same conclusion at the same time, and act together like they were a hive mind?

Yeah, that happened a lot in this book. I'm not joking, most of this book seemed to be in the first person plural POV. Everything is 'we felt', 'we thought', 'we did', 'we consider', 'we need', 'we eat', etc. etc. It was just so irritating after a while.

I also didn't like the angst with Jackson. I thought we were lucky in the first book, getting a sorta romance without angst, but I guess I jinxed it. Here there was the constant unneeded angst about whether he hates her or not, and I was getting tired of it.

I feel that this would have been an awesome standalone. There are probably many other things I had a problem with, but I'm just tired of this book, so I'm going to stop here with my review.

I reiterate that I have no idea why this has 3 stars, especially after reading through the essay I just wrote. I might reduce this rating in the future, but for now, this is it. I will be reading the 3rd book, but I don't have a lot of high hopes for it. I recommend it to anyone who read the first book, but I will tell you to be prepared for disappointment.

12. The Raven Boys

Synopsis:

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them--until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.

His name is Gansey, a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn't believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

Review:

I liked it, but definitely didn't love it.

The main problem with this for me was maybe that this is a pretty new sub genre for me; I don't think I've read supernatural before. Angels, demons, lost kings, psychics, clairvoyants, ghosts, etc. etc. - I just don't have a lot of experience in this area. I'd love to read more psychic/empathic/telepathic/clairvoyant/etc. fiction, and I will be on the lookout for more like this.

So, this being out of my comfort zone, I got confused a lot, and early on, I came to the conclusion that I would not completely understand it, and so I should just go with it. And that really improved my experience!

The other problem was maybe that the main cast for this is so many boys. Just, so many. I know there were only four, but two boy perspectives, and one girl perspective, and I was finding it a bit unrelatable. Especially in the beginning chapters, when I had to reread chapters twice just to figure out whose perspective it actually was.

Yet another problem, I felt, was that some of the things that were really obvious took them really long to figure out.

For example, the fact that Noah is dead. That, was just, I thought they knew? I really thought it was just obvious, and I didn't even realise none of them referred to him as dead, because I thought from the beginning that this guy's a ghost. I didn't know that was supposed to be like a plot twist or something!?!?

I thought it was like the book is about the weird people gang: the girl's a psychic, the raven-chick guy has weird dreams and mood swings, the ambitious and driven guy seems to be older than he is, the poor guy has issues with his family and issues with asking for help, the weird guy who doesn't do anything in daylight and literally says he's been dead for 7 years is OBVIOUSLY A F*CKING GHOST!??!?!

View Spoiler I get that that's only one thing, but it felt like a lot.

Another thing I didn't completely love about this was the romance. What I usually like in a book is to know who I'm supposed to be shipping with who. Here, I was just so confused.

I mean my thought process was more or less "Should I ship Blue with Gansey or Adam? Adam seems like the love interest, but the synopsis suggested Gansey. But I don't want it to be Gansey. that would be too obvious. But then do I ship Adam with Gansey or with Blue? And Ronan with Gansey or Adam? At least one of these people have to be gay, right?" And on and on and on....

View Spoiler

I have to say, I did not see the twist with Noah coming.

I got the part about him being dead, but the thing where he was Czerny? Did not see that coming.

View Spoiler I am really curious about Whelk, and what he'll do next, and I'm hoping Neeve will be back in the next one.

One of the things I did love about this was the family of Blue. I just really love stories with characters with big families, and this delivered completely on that front!

On the whole, I liked it, and I will be continuing with the series. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes the supernatural sub-genre, teenagers figuring out some centuries old shit, all-boy gangs (to be fair there was 1 girl), confusing romances where you have no idea who to ship, doesn't mind plotlines that might not make complete sense, and stories with big families.

13. Mortal Heart

Synopsis:

Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own.

She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn't mean she has...

Review:

Okay, I loved this the most out of this series!!!!

Seriously, this is the best one. If you for some reason decided to discontinue with this after Dark Triumph, I'd recommend that is one because this is amazing!!

Annith is my favourite. The main reason for this is that she has no powers per se and that is why she is kept prisoner in the abbey. Or so it seems. Since she was perhaps the most relatable, I liked her the most.

Balthazar has to be my favourite love interest in this series. And it was even better when we found out his identity. He was so much like an eager puppy ready to follow whatever Annith told him to do, that he stole my heart. He's literally the cutest person ever.

Even though he's Death. Which was supposed to be a surprise, but me being the stupid person I am, decided to open a spoiler marked answer to a question about this book, thinking it would be nice to know who the love interest was going to be. I just wanted the name. I hate whoever answered with Death. Why couldn't you write Balthazar instead of Death!?!?

View Spoiler

Another thing I loved about this book was the way it ended. From the previous books, and from what I understood from Wikipedia, Anne did not have a particularly happy ending. I'm glad that was worked out, and we got a pretty good ending for her.

I had read that she was going to end up marrying the King, so I was really glad when they made it a marriage of love. Somewhat. At least it wasn't complete a disaster.

View Spoiler

I was kinda hoping that Annith would end up sleeping with 'someone' *ahem* and thus become non-eligible for the Seeress task, and I'm glad she considered it, but why isn't there a book like that out there? (On second thoughts, there must most definitely be numerous books out there with that plot, but I've not had the good fortune to come across them)

Also, one of my theories about this came true, and not only was it accurate, it was precise (Class 11 physics has drilled these two words together in my head; can't think of one without thinking of the other).

This was my actual theory, confessed to Brinley, my reading buddy for this one:

67%

I have this feeling that the abbess might have slept with Crunard or something.....I can't think of a worse offense...
Is it possible that Annith might be the daughter of the abbess? With Crunard? And not of Mortain at all? That's why she's normal?
I think I'm grasping at straws here

View Spoiler

And then approximately 5 minutes later:

68% and 69%

OH MY GOD I WAS RIGHT!!!!!??!?!?!?!?!?


I have never been ever completely right in any of predictions. I think. But OH MY GOD I GUESSED CORRECTLY!!??!?!


In other thoughts, I feel this makes Annith's devotion to Mortain even more beautiful, and her love for him truer.

View Spoiler

I know I get too excited whenever one of my theories is even remotely near what was true, but I can't help it.

And, like I said in my update, I really thought that made Annith's love more true. And Mortain's as well. Because neither of them were under any obligation to be so devoted, granted Annith wasn't aware, but somehow I just really loved that.

Also, it would have been really weird if he was actually her father. And I usually avoid stories and fanfics that have a romance in which one of them knows the other from birth, or something like that, which usually gives it pedophilia vibes, but in this case, because it was more of a falling in love with the other person's soul, it was okay. It was really okay. It was more than really okay. (Brain: How the mighty have fallen. Reduced to 'okay'. Is it even a fall if your vocabulary was this bad to begin with?)(Me: Shut up)

View Spoiler

Reading this series, I've been made more curious about Celtic gods, and paganism. I'll definitely be researching more about them, and I hope to read more from this concept. I think probably the only books I've read till date with Celtic gods is [b:The Hound of Rowan|603515|The Hound of Rowan (The Tapestry, #1)|Henry H. Neff|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320469099l/603515._SY75_.jpg|3646120] series, and I'd love to read more! I really loved that series.

That Author's Note made me want to really read the sequels, and so I'm really excited to read the Courting Darkness series, though I'm sad that we won't have more Annith. I do like Sybella, though so it's not that much of a bad thing. I just really hope we'll keep seeing more of Annith!

I loved it, and I recommend it to anyone who read the previous two books. Or even people who might decide to read this as a standalone, though you probably won't understand a lot of what's going on.

Remarks

This was the month school finally started catching up to me, so I read pretty less. Still I read so many gems! I also had exams, and they were a wakeup call that led me to keep my reading down.