Sunday, February 26, 2017

Review: Traitor to the Throne (Rebel of the Sands #2) by Alwyn Hamilton

Firstly, thanks to Faber & Faber for this review copy <3

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Date Read: February 1 - 11 2017
Date Released: February 2nd 2017
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Fantasy
My Rating:

Synopsis:
"This is not about blood or love. This is about treason.

Nearly a year has passed since Amani and the rebels won their epic battle at Fahali. Amani has come into both her powers and her reputation as the Blue-Eyed Bandit, and the Rebel Prince's message has spread across the desert - and some might say out of control. But when a surprise encounter turns into a brutal kidnapping, Amani finds herself betrayed in the cruellest manner possible.

Stripped of her powers and her identity, and torn from the man she loves, Amani must return to her desert-girl's instinct for survival. For the Sultan's palace is a dangerous one, and the harem is a viper's nest of suspicion, fear and intrigue. Just the right place for a spy to thrive... But spying is a dangerous game, and when ghosts from Amani's past emerge to haunt her, she begins to wonder if she can trust her own treacherous heart."

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While I enjoyed Rebel of the Sands last year, I wouldn’t say I loved it and I had my problems with it. That being said, I was still eager to see where Amani’s journey, and that of the rebellion, would go to next. I’m happy to say I really enjoyed Traitor to the Throne and found it fun and thrilling.

Amani is a character whose perspective I’ve always enjoyed reading from. She’s able to think quickly on her feet – at times too quickly, acting before she thinks but that’s what makes her such a fun character. Nobody is without their flaws though and I’d rather someone who acts than stands still. Amani’s wit is also something I adored. She’s snarky and her comebacks are blunt and accurate. I could relate to this so much because this is the type of person I am. I really admired her capacity to care. She was constantly thinking of everyone, giving everybody the benefit of the doubt, thinking of ways to help others while she herself was in peril. That’s one amazing strength of character right there. Oh don’t get me wrong she used people to her advantage but to me, her overarching kindness outweighed that. Amani is definitely somebody you want as a friend.

This series has a lot of secondary characters but my favourite was the Sultan. The infamous Sultan, so hated and talked about in the previous book, the whole point of the rebellion. He was not what I (or Amani) expected. Kidnapped into the harem, Amani meets the Sultan and it turns out he’s not crazy and pure cruelty. You know what makes scary tyrants? Not the unreasonable ones, but the ones who are able to take your argument and your beliefs and spin them with their reason so you end up seeing their point of view. You almost believe that what they’ve done is justifiable because of their rationale. That’s what makes a leader to be concerned about – their cunning and smarts. The Sultan is definitely a clever man and I loved the way Hamilton crafted his character. Another character I adored was Shazad, daughter of the general and she is so freaking brilliant. She’s just so supportive and smart and the strength of her friendship is goals.

Romance isn’t everything; I mean heck I liked that this book concentrated on Amani’s ability to be independent as she survives in the harem but Jin’s absent for the majority of the book and I felt it. I’m kind of disappointed because I lived for this ship in Rebel and I wanted moar MOAR MOOOARRRRRR. I was a bit mad at Jin for his constant disappearing acts too, like boy, get your act together and be more responsible. I know it’s a lot to ask for but I’m praying for a happily ever after.

Hamilton’s style is easy to read and I could tell she’s definitely improved since Rebel. She’s more detailed and there’s more imagery in Traitor however I still felt the lack of world-building which was my issue with book 1. It’s definitely a lighter touch than what I’d expect from a high fantasy.

The plot is very twisty and had me gasping and I loved the politics and games in the harem. There were a lot of secrets and conspiracies which were all slowly revealed. I did have issues with the pacing though. This book is over 500 pages and this probably won’t make sense but while I turned the pages quickly and got through this quite quickly, I felt the story itself was slow? I felt the pacing was off and everything happened in the last 70 or so pages. But those fast few chapters, they were like BAM BAM BAM and the ending had me shook. For ages I thought this was a duology so when I got to the end my feelings nearly died because I was like no way is that the end. THANK GOODNESS THERE’S ANOTHER BOOK. That’s all I have to say.

Overall I found Traitor to the Throne to be an enjoyable and relatively fast read. A witty MC who is fast on her feet, Amani takes the rebellion to the next stage with action and politics and I can’t wait to see the final showdown.

Monday, February 13, 2017

Review: This Beats Perfect by Rebecca Denton

Firstly, thanks to Hachette Australia for this review copy <3

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Date Read: January 29 - February 1 2017
Date Released: February 2nd 2017
Publisher: Atom Books
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Contemporary
My Rating:

Synopsis:
"Amelie Ayres has impeccable taste in music. Bowie. Bush. Bob. So when she finds herself backstage at The Keep’s only UK gig she expects to hate it; after all they are world’s most tragic band. In fact she feels a grudging respect – not (obviously) for their music, but for the work that goes in to making them megastars. And when lead singer, ‘Maxx’, is not dressed up as a cross between Elvis and a My Little Pony, he is actually rather normal, talented and has creative struggles not too dissimilar to her own.

But the next morning she wakes up rolls over and discovers a million new @’s on social media. Overnight a photo of her backstage has made her a subject of global speculation. Suddenly the world needs to know #Who’sThatGirl? – but for all the wrong reasons.

All Amelie wants is to play her music. She’s got the guitar, the songs, the soul and, in the safety of her bedroom, she’s got the voice. But when it comes to getting up on stage, she struggles with self-doubt.

Immaculate’s a concept. Flawless is fake. But just sometimes music – and hearts – can rock a perfect beat."

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It’s been a while since I’ve read such a fun book but This Beats Perfect is up there with some of my favourite contemporaries. Swoony, light hearted and sweet, Denton has put together the perfect contemporary.

It all starts when Amelie goes backstage to see her dad who’s the sound engineer for a boyband concert that Amelie actually has no interest in. Nek minnit she’s Twitter famous because one of the boyband members has @’d her.

I love a relatable MC and Amelie is one flawed, yet real teenager. She felt like a 17 year old girl to me, not too immature but not wise beyond her years. Her worries are those of the present, of making it through high school – oh the innocence of teenage years haha. She’s sweet but also fiery, I liked the way she got slightly intimidated in front of famous people (I mean who doesn’t?!) but at the same time she could still hold her own. The poor girl has really bad stage fright (not uncommon I mean I liken performance stage fright to lpublic speaking, which is the 2nd biggest fear in the world) and she’s trying to get over it so she can finally perform her music. I admired her persistence because she tries and fails and fails again and it’s a long and slow journey to the end where I swear I was praying she could do it. She doesn’t exactly have the best support – her dad is busy in the music industry but doesn’t always make time for her, I found her mum selfish, and while her best friend is wonderful, I got the feeling she didn’t get Amelie. But the growth is slow and real - I grew to really love Amelie and cheer her on.

The range of secondary characters were all interesting and I liked that they were relevant to the story and Amelie’s journey. Her parents love her and have a good relationship but they’re both lost in their own worlds, in their dreams and she sort of gets left behind. It was interesting to see a dynamic where the parent doesn’t always put their child first. Don’t get me wrong, I could see them try, but their lives would always get in the way and Amelie would sort of stand back and let it happen. There are the friends she meets working with her dad who give her tips and support her who I found really nice and fun. Her best friend though I thought was the typical best friend trope – gorgeous and doesn’t know it, outgoing, is kind of perfect – and it kind of annoyed me. On the bright side said best friend is a great person so that’s a plus.

In comes Maxx from The Keep whose broody on stage demeanour actually goes deeper. He’s struggling with his place in the band, with what he really wants and questioning how he even got there and what he’s doing with his life. I like the tentative initial connection Max and Amelie have that slowly grows as they see more of each other. I found that Amelie was able to impart more advice on Max than vice versa, but Max helped boost Amelie’s confidence. The romance is slow burn and sweet but totally swoony. Not gonna lie, if a hot guy from a boyband took an interest in me I’d be swooning too, especially when he’s being legit! Buuuuut of course it’s not that easy (when is it ever?) and there’s misunderstandings and obstacles along the way. A girl can dream though right?

As contemporaries go, the plot is Amelie’s journey from the moment she’s in the spotlight, dealing with fame she doesn’t want (I liked seeing that aspect - the scary fangirls who result to bullying, it’s not all rainbows and unicorns) and trying to get over her stage fright to get the fame she does want. It’s a journey of self-discovery for both her and Max – wow do I ever sound clichéd. Can’t stop won’t stop LOL.

I really liked the way Denton injects the story with her musical expertise, it shows through in the politics of the musical industry woven throughout, in the bits and pieces like the way Amelie records her music and her studio setup. I would have liked even more of this detail because all we ever see elsewhere is the glitz and glamour; to see the nitty gritty would have been different and given the story an even more genuine feel. Denton’s style is easy to follow and immersive – I fell right in to Amelie’s world.

If you’re looking for a sweet and heart-warming contemporary, then you’ve got to pick up This Beats Perfect.

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Review: Valentine by Jodi McAlister

Firstly, thanks to Penguin Teen Australia for this review copy <3

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Date Read: January 19 - 26 2017
Date Released: January 30th 2017
Publisher: Penguin Australia
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Paranormal
My Rating:

Synopsis:
"Four teenagers – all born on the same Valentine’s Day – begin to disappear. As the bodies mount up, Pearl Linford has to work out what in the supernatural hell is going on, before it happens to her. 

Finn Blacklin is the boy with whom Pearl shares a birthday, the boy she has known all her life and disliked every second of it, the boy her subconscious has a totally annoying crush on. Finn is also the Valentine: a Seelie fairy changeling swapped for a human boy at birth. The Unseelie have come to kill the Valentine – except they don’t know who it is. And now both the Seelie and the Unseelie think Pearl is the Valentine, and if they find out she isn’t, she’ll disappear too.

Pearl must use all her wits to protect herself. Finn must come to terms with his newfound heritage. And then there’s the explosive chemistry between them that neither of them know quite what to do about..."

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Contrary to its seemingly romantic name, Valentine is a fun yet increasingly dark tale.

The story is told from the first person perspective of Pearl, one of the four teenagers born on Valentine’s Day. I really liked Pearl. She’s got a very strong personality and is opinionated which I respect. She’s the type of person that has really close friends that like her but also people that she hates (and hate her back) but gives no fucks. She values the relationships she has with people and it really came through in the way she keeps talking about the people around her – her best friend Phil who is logical and practical, her crush Cardy who she admires for his academics and all-roundedness. I enjoyed reading her funny and sarcastic voice so much, she made the story seem authentic.

There’s a lot of secondary characters and friendships explored but my favourite was Pearl’s relationship with her brother and sister. Shad and Dise are twins seventeen years older than Pearl and they basically raised her. I freaking adored the dynamics these three had. Shad the computer genius is laid back but loves his little sister (well both sisters) so much while Dise is more opinionated and kind of like an aunt to Pearl. They’re both more laid back than parents and yet manage to do the parenting thing perfectly. Pearl obviously respects them in the way she talks to them, in the way her siblings share their opinions with her but still joke about their youth days. Best. Sibling. Relationship. Ever.

The romance was an interesting one. She’s got this crush on Cardy but her hate towards Finn is also some like unresolved sexual tension me thinks. She also has weird fantasies about him and for a moment I was scared it was going to an Alice in Zombieland moment (in that one, the girl has hot daydreams about the guy and this is their excuse to get together WTF) but thankfully it’s not! The romance is slowburn and Pearl respects herself so much I was like YES YOU GO GIRL. She’s rational (ok at times angry) and isn’t lovesick or mopey. She knows there’s more important things than romance when you’re a teen!

Okay so the plot wow. Teenagers start disappearing guys. Friends and classmates. There are black cats everywhere and black birds attacking people. Everybody seems to find it odd but Pearl seems to be the only that notices. When one of her best friends goes missing she’s the only know who takes a step back to check up on her and things really start to get freaky from there. The blurb clearly says this is a story of Seelie/Unseelie but how this unfolds is fantastic. McAlister has done it in such a believable way – the way a normal human being might go down a detective path when things around them start getting weird. The level of disbelief, scepticism and research required is perfectly balanced with the way things happen. It’s slow, but to me that’s how to make it seem real.

McAlister’s writing style is casual yet descriptive. She has Pearl talk with abbreviations “TBH”, “FA” which I think enhanced Pearl’s voice as this is the lingo of the generation. There’s Pearl thinking in all caps which really helps with seeing her freak out or get excited about something. There’s also the one word sentences on each line and this makes it really seem like I’m experiencing things from Pearl’s POV – her drowning and blacking out at the right moment as her thoughts and consciousness dwindled. It’s superb. Then there’s the freaky scenes that had me texting my friends at like 12am and going on full freak out mode because I WAS FREAKING SCARED. I nearly started crying not even lying I had to go watch some K-pop to calm down. McAlister is really good at creating atmosphere.

My only gripe with the book was that at times it was a tad too slow and the ending really left me wanting. It wasn’t as fey as I wanted and the conclusion felt rushed. However, I hear this is a series and Ironheart already has a cover – PLEASE BE A SEQUEL.

McAlister’s debut has established her as a strong writer in Aussie YA. I enjoyed Valentine so much with its strong protagonist, dark plot and engaging writing style.