Review: Flame in the Mist (Flame in the Mist #1) by Renee Ahdieh

Firstly, thanks to Date a Book for this review copy <3

Date Read: May 8 - July 23 2017
Date Released: May 16th 2017
Publisher: Hachette Australia
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Fantasy
My Rating:

Synopsis:

"The daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko has long known her place—she may be an accomplished alchemist, whose cunning rivals that of her brother Kenshin, but because she is not a boy, her future has always been out of her hands. At just seventeen years old, Mariko is promised to Minamoto Raiden, the son of the emperor's favorite consort—a political marriage that will elevate her family's standing. But en route to the imperial city of Inako, Mariko narrowly escapes a bloody ambush by a dangerous gang of bandits known as the Black Clan, who she learns has been hired to kill her before she reaches the palace.

Dressed as a peasant boy, Mariko sets out to infiltrate the ranks of the Black Clan, determined to track down the person responsible for the target on her back. But she's quickly captured and taken to the Black Clan’s secret hideout, where she meets their leader, the rebel ronin Takeda Ranmaru, and his second-in-command, his best friend Okami. Still believing her to be a boy, Ranmaru and Okami eventually warm to Mariko, impressed by her intellect and ingenuity. As Mariko gets closer to the Black Clan, she uncovers a dark history of secrets, of betrayal and murder, which will force her to question everything she's ever known."

---

This review is so painful to write you don’t even understand. Imagine a child dragging their feet along the floor in utmost resistance as they enter the dentist. That’s me and this review. I mean we can review the evidence, the time between when I started reading Flame in the Mist, the time between me putting it down and finally picking it back up again, to the time between finishing and writing this review. From the beginning of May to mid-July to the end of August. Every time I think about the book I ask myself why couldn’t I like this, why it had to be this way. Then a deep disappointment fills my bones.

Call me presumptuous but I already knew I wouldn’t like this book from the very first page – how dare she just assume and not give this book a chance you may be asking? It was in the writing but we’ll delve into that later. I had a lot of problems with Mariko, the protagonist of the story. The daughter of a wealthy clan and family of samurais, she is enroute to her marriage with the emperor’s son when her envoy is attacked. Her litter is in flames and her inside it but she still can’t decide whether she wants to leave it despite her attackers already having presumed her dead. Honey, you’re more likely to survive outside that in a wooden contraption feeding the fire. And that was what frustrated me about Mariko throughout the book. All her supposed thinking/pondering that was meant to come across as strategizing. Her constant internal debates were meant to show how she had a great mind for a battle of wits but she came across as indecisive and uncertain. There were so many situations where I was screaming at her to just go – I’m sorry that I like my heroines who know when to act. Then there was her supposed wit – those moments where she says it’s more powerful to stay silent rather than retort? I found it embarrassing as this came across as her not having a proper comeback and admitting defeat when she’s adamant she’s right. I didn’t buy into her character.

The book would occasionally cut to her brother Kenshin’s point of view and while I actually liked the Dragon of Kai and the honourable qualities of his character, I just didn’t care about his perspective. I feel that the book could do without these parts and it would be fine; even better really because it would speed up the pace.

Having infiltrated the Black Clan disguised as a filthy peasant boy, Mariko spends her time trying to get to know the members and their motive to kill her. The two main guys Okami and Ranmaru immediately accept her as a boy and I found this a tad unbelievable? I mean come on, the Ouran Host Club found out Haruhi was a girl within a day and they didn’t even live with her. Mariko spends months with these guys and nobody suspects a thing? What the? I can’t say I even cared too much about Ranmaru or Okami like yeah cool bromance guys now move on with the story.

Of course there had to be romance. Honestly could have done without. I’m not sure how hate turns into love so quickly. I fully support hating someone but there’s chemistry leading to attraction, but love? It felt so forced too, hate one moment, love the next. I didn’t understand, I didn’t feel and I didn’t sense the chemistry at all. No attraction. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

The plot progressed so slowly I kind of wondered if anything was ever going to happen. Endless pages of Mariko “biding her time” and nek minnit days or weeks have passed. This book isn’t a slow read by any means, the physical turning of the pages can happen quickly, but it’s just nothing seems to move? The writing itself is easy enough to read but it felt so distant and simplistic. I was craving the lush, lyrical style that Ahdieh graced me with in The Wrath and the Dawn and I got the complete opposite. As soon as I read the first page, my heart plummeted as I’d set my hopes up for the writing style I had fallen in love with. Don’t get me wrong, the writing isn’t bad, Ahdieh is a good writer but Flame in the Mist wasn’t a style to my liking.

In terms of the world-building I feel like this incorporated every trope-y, stereotypical Japanese element stuffed into one book. Samurai, geisha, teahouses, ninjas, THROWING STARS. I’m not Japanese though so I don’t have a right to comment on these aspects. My Japanese friend did look at the writing and at parts like “Ranmaru ronin” go “what a weeb” LOL.

And coming to the end of this review I’ve made this book sound so much worse than it really is. I think I’m still feeling the disappointment because I love The Wrath and the Dawn duology so much and I had such exceptionally high hopes for Flame in the Mist. This book just wasn't for me.

Review: Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

Firstly, thanks to Pan Macmillan Australia for this review copy <3

Date Read: August 21 - September 6 2016
Date Released: October 1 2016
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Fantasy
My Rating:

Synopsis:

"Three sisters. One crown. A fight to the death.
In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn't solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it's not just a game of win or lose . . . it's life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins.

The last queen standing gets the crown."

---

I can’t even begin to describe how sad I am that I didn’t like this. When I think of TDC and how it just went downhill, I’m filled with such disappointment.

The premise sounded amazing - three sisters who are equal heirs to the crown and who have to fight to be queen on their sixteenth birthday. Each has their own distinctive ability: elements, poisons, nature. There was the implied promise of strategy, action, manipulation and wonderful magic.

Three Dark Crowns started off strong - I was immersed in Katharine’s training of poisons and the way she’d been brought up in the family of poisoners. Blake keeps true to her word that it’s about three sisters with equal rights to the crown because she writes all three perspectives of each sister. I can’t say I cared much for Arsinoe and her supposedly naturalist gift. Mirabella was quite interesting with her elemental abilities and to be honest she seemed to be the only one who had any sort of personality. By the end I didn’t see how Katharine had grown as a person. I had no idea of her hopes and dreams, what she wanted for herself. Arsinoe too seemed to not really give a shit about anything and I was extremely bored with her. There were some things to do with her ‘abilities' that led her in a particular direction but her drive for that was very lacklustre. I found the sisters to be quite flat overall. Can you tell I don’t even care?

I think the secondary characters, especially the heads of each family that were training each sister, really drove the direction of the novel, and the sisters themselves. There was definitely manipulation here and the sisters felt like puppets. As such it didn’t feel like the story was about the sisters but more about these families at each other’s throats trying to put the sister they were looking after onto the throne for their own goals. Was I interested in their motives? Somewhat but not really. There wasn’t enough there to make it anymore than a power play and be a famous family.

What I really wanted more of was the history of the queens. There seemed a lot of promise behind the idea of the triplets and I’m really hoping that Blake explores this because it has so much potential to drive the direction of the sisters going forward. As it stands, there wasn’t enough of this history to hint at what Blake plans for the future and I can’t even tell if this history will be opened up in the sequels. This is possibly wishful thinking of my part.

The plot… was not really a plot at all for me. Maybe because it took me so damn long to read this book because I got so damn bored because it dragged on forever and nothing seemed to happen. Everything was meant to lead to this festival but honestly I was so fed up at this point that any plot twists/revelations and the like didn’t wow me or reduce my boredom at all. Stuff happened and I guess I was like wtf but then I was like ok *turns the page* let’s get this over and done with.

It felt like the story lost its direction. I couldn’t tell where Blake was going with this. By the time this ended I felt lost. I didn’t feel like I’d finished a story. I felt like I’d drifted in the middle of the sea and was floating aimlessly. There’s potential but I can’t anticipate what happens in the sequel because not enough happened in Three Dark Crowns. I wanted more from the sisters; I expected more from their abilities and I wanted them to use their brains.

I see the potential in Three Dark Crowns, I really do. However, book 1 failed to hit the mark to establish itself for a strong series. I’m hoping the sequel will be better.

Review: The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood

Firstly, thanks to Pan Macmillan Australia for this review copy <3



Date Read: May 18-22 2016
Date Released: May 5th 2016
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Contemporary/Sci-fi
My Rating:

Note this review contains ranty spoilers.

Synopsis:

"Last summer, Gottie's life fell apart. Her beloved grandfather Grey died and Jason left her - the boy to whom she lost her virginity (and her heart) - and he wouldn't even hold her hand at the funeral! This summer, still reeling from twin heartbreaks, Gottie is lost and alone and burying herself in equations. Until, after five years absence, Thomas comes home: former boy next door. Former best friend. Former everything. And as life turns upside down again she starts to experience strange blips in time - back to last summer, back to what she should have seen then . . .

During one long, hazy summer, Gottie navigates grief, world-stopping kisses and rips in the space-time continuum, as she tries to reconcile her first heartbreak with her last."

---

Here’s a question that doesn’t require a physics degree to answer: what do you get when you combine space time theory with teenage romance? A recipe for disaster that’s what. The Square Root of Summer was one of the biggest jumbled messes I’ve ever read. Complete and utter chaos.

The premise is easy enough to understand – it’s the beginning of summer vacation for Gottie and everything is falling apart. The boy she had a fling with the previous summer is back, add that to the grief she’s still suffering from her grandfather, Grey’s, death and Grots is a bit all over the shop. Everything reminds her of last summer, and it’s grief and happiness colliding. Then her childhood friend returns to England and she’s got her anger at his returning to deal with too. What wasn’t necessary was the amount of science/maths used to drive the plot. Rather than memories, Gottie’s actually travelling back in time through wormholes. What the.

I liked Gottie’s character. She’s a mess of feelings and was very relatable. The father figure and person she looked up to in life has passed away and she doesn’t know what to do with herself. Little bits and pieces of her life before her grandfather’s death keep popping up and these are constant reminders of a much happier time and place. They drag her down and I could really feel how depressed she got. With the way she got lost in her thoughts I could tell she was spaced out a lot and this added to her character. I’m not sure of her character growth in terms of her awareness about the people around her, but she grows as a person in terms of understanding death and letting go.

The romance is cute. The love interest so obviously likes her and he does all these little things to please Gottie but she doesn’t realise it (as I said, she’s got her head in the clouds most of the time). I loved that he cooks and loves baking! I too would like a boyfriend who makes me delicious food (y’all know I love my food, especially desserts. I mean have you seen my Instagram? Ahem). He’s a bit geeky and very caring and observant. I totally shipped this. My only issue was that Gottie seemed so damn indecisive it was like she was giving him signals, stringing him along but didn’t realise it. I attribute that to her being so clueless!

My goodness the secondary characters were all so well layered and developed. Delightful people! Through Gottie’s ‘time leaps’(?) I could tell her grandfather was the life of the party. He was this totally hippie, new age dude who everybody loved. Then there’s Gottie’s brother Ned who’s in a band and comes home at dawn to puke in the grass and then fall asleep on the spot. Their seemingly absent-minded father who disappears into his own world a lot. Sof, Jason and Meg, the friends/ex-friends from a summer ago. Everybody was so different but take one character and put them with another and they’d have something in common – and Grey sort of brought everybody together too. Despite the, at times, messy relationships I liked that there were no real villains. There wasn’t the beautiful bitch or a really horrible guy. There were just a lot of misunderstandings and ok I do admit Jason was a bit of a prick. I liked that all the characters were there, Gottie just had to open her eyes.

By this point you’re probably wondering how bad the wormholes could have been to warrant this rating, given I liked Gottie, her feelings were portrayed realistically, I adored all the characters, and I thought the writing was beautiful and flowed nicely.

Oh my god the execution of the plot using quantum physics. Worst. Thing. Ever. I appreciate the effort Hapgood used to draw the diagrams to help the reader understand the theories. I’m also going to assume that the science behind it all is correct because it certainly sounded very scientific. And that’s where the problem lay. The way the science was used to drive the plot did not mesh well. It was a physics class one moment and then the next moment emotions and romance that didn’t connect with the physics. A lot of the book is Gottie going back to moments last summer and coming back to current time to realise hours have passed. But then she visits alternate realities and there’s like GAPS in the space around her. Like there’s an area in the sky that’s missing blue and in its place is outer space. WHAAAAT. I didn’t know what to believe, it was so disjointed. The going back and forth through the wormholes, then the idea of altering events in time. Thinking back, there was this moment in the book where it all happens and I was so confused, it’s like that part in Interstellar with the sand and the lines like what was even going on. I don’t know what she was doing, how she was changing stuff and how she was returning. And if you say quantum physics I will give you a blank look. The story really could have been better off without all the science. It would have been a perfectly swoony summer read with memories zzzzz. Then the ending happened and I was mega confused, like did she fix everything? Did anything need fixing? Was it just her feelings? It seemed like it. I DON'T KNOW lelelel.

Tl;dr I did not understand the plot and how we got to the end and thus I did not feel like I read a complete book ha.

Did this review make sense? Are you as confused as I am? Well that’s how I felt reading this book. Send help. Actually, send me a brain. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t enjoy this.

Review: Bro by Helen Chebatte

Firstly, thanks to Hardie Grant Egmont for this review copy <3



Date Read: February 11-14
Date Released: February 01 2016
Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Contemporary
My Rating:

Synopsis:

"Romeo knows the rules.
Stick with your own kind. Don’t dob on your mates, or even your enemies.
But even unwritten rules are made for breaking.
Fight Clubs, first loves and family ties are pushed to their limit in Helen Chebatte’s explosive debut novel."

---

I’m a bit conflicted on how I feel about Bro. On one hand I thought it could be an accurate depiction of teenage high school life and the racial issues we are STILL dealing with in Australia. On the other hand I felt it was really stupid to be so largely centred on a fight club.

At first glance, main character Romeo “Romes” Makhlouf has no trouble with cultural identity. He sees himself as Leb (Lebanese) because he eats Lebanese food, has a Lebanese family and hangs out with his ‘bros’ who are all Lebanese. But his mother was Australian (of Anglo-Celtic descent I assume) and as the book progresses I could see how he’s raised the question before of what it means to be Australian. He got on well with everybody and is the type of person that doesn’t want to cause trouble. Poor kid gets stuck in a lot of dilemmas – do the right thing or defend his bros? It’s a hard decision to make and for teenagers who are at that stage in life where they feel they have a reputation to uphold at school, stupid things will ensue. I definitely felt bad for him because he gets dragged into so much shit by his friends, the other racial groups at school, and even runs into girl problems. But Romes my man, get a spine and learn to speak up for yourself. Yeah I get it – high school equals peer pressure. Which is a serious problem and it sucks.

Secondary characters wise I loved Romeo’s best friend Diz. Diz is this really chill kid who’s always there for Romeo. He always manages to say the right thing for the situation, has a smile or a joke for you and is the kind of best friend I wish I had. Diz is also obsessed with Oprah. LOVE. HIM. Not that I watch Oprah but I think it’s cool that he gives no fucks because he likes what he likes. He’s probably my fav in the story. Then there are all the guys who fit into the racial groups (mainly Lebs, ‘Ozzies’ and ‘Fobs’) and are the epitome of high school idiocy with their need to be manly and tough. These sort of guys pissed the hell out of me and I’ll be honest, they’re the kind I’d stay away from when I was in high school. They’re freaking teens and they’re getting into punch ups and attacking each other after school. What the actual eff? Maybe I’m too far removed from high school now to understand. The relationship I really appreciated was the one between Romeo and his grandmother. I liked that he respected her and it’s ingrained into their culture. If he ever snapped at her he apologised and I could just see that he really loved her - no need to hide it. As someone who respects my elders as that’s how I was brought up, I really like to read about other kids brought up this way.

Sooooo the romance. It was cute. Kind of. Romes gets pretty whipped though *cracks whip* I wasn’t too pleased with the love interest. She was indecisive (again is this me being too old to understand high school drama?) and basically is the cause of a fight. I didn’t see her try to do anything about it except text Romeo if he’s ok. She doesn’t tell the other guy off. I just… Wow cannot even. I really needed more character development and dimension on her part. I think overall there was a lack of character development – so many people I couldn’t keep track with lots of surface mentions and not enough detail.

Anyway there’s a fight club. That's the main plot. It’s stupid. The whole idea of a fight club is stupid but these guys have race against race. Like a Leb versus an Ozzie. Or Fob versus Leb. If that didn’t drive the already tense racial issues, then I don’t know what does. And the guys glorify it. Does this really happen in schools? It probably does sadly. I’m not sure how I feel about using this a plot device. Racial tension was enough to be honest. On the topic of that it was sad to see how high school kids still separate themselves. What I’m assuming to be the ones of British decent were the Ozzies (true Australians? Please) and everybody else was categorised according by their culture/background. Nononono. As one of the characters so correctly put it “You’re all Australian. You put each other down for having different backgrounds but your different backgrounds are what make Australia today.”

The teachers don’t help either. There’s this one teacher in the book who actually seems to pick on Romeo a lot and is a poor teacher in general – the kind that just reads from a textbook, makes you copy stuff from overhead projectors and doesn’t explain. The reality is that teachers like that do exist. She totally disregards that Romeo is half-Anglo and assumes he knows how to read Arabic. How is she a teacher again? Yay more school issues, as if the students weren’t enough of a problem.

Well this was a mess of a review and it shows all my jumbled thoughts about this book. Chebatte gives us a glimpse of the male high school life - an MC who’s struggling with typical teen issues and cultural identity, egged on by increasing racial tensions at school, a lot of side characters and a stupid fight club that has everything going down in shit. Welcome to Australia?

Review: Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout

Firstly, thanks to St Martin's Press for this review copy <3

Date Read: May 27 - 31 2015
Date Released: June 9th 2015
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Contemporary
My Rating:

Synopsis:

"Grace Wilde is running—from the multi-million dollar mansion her record producer father bought, the famous older brother who’s topped the country music charts five years in a row, and the mother who blames her for her brother’s breakdown. Grace escapes to the farthest place from home she can think of, a boarding school in Korea, hoping for a fresh start.

She wants nothing to do with music, but when her roommate Sophie’s twin brother Jason turns out to be the newest Korean pop music superstar, Grace is thrust back into the world of fame. She can't stand Jason, whose celebrity status is only outmatched by his oversized ego, but they form a tenuous alliance for the sake of her friendship with Sophie. As the months go by and Grace adjusts to her new life in Korea, even she can't deny the sparks flying between her and the KPOP idol.

Soon, Grace realizes that her feelings for Jason threaten her promise to herself that she'll leave behind the music industry that destroyed her family. But can Grace ignore her attraction to Jason and her undeniable pull of the music she was born to write? Sweet, fun, and romantic, this young adult novel explores what it means to experience first love and discover who you really are in the process."

---

I’m undecided on how I feel about Hello, I Love You. While I loved the Korean aspect to this, I had major issues with the MC and her voice.

On a whim, Grace Wilde runs away from a family scandal to an international boarding school in Korea. Sadly, I really disliked Grace because she turned what could have been a great eye opening experience into something cringey. I mean, I would LOVE to visit Korea or study abroad. Grace chooses Korea because it was the first thing that popped up on her Google search. Upon reaching Korea though, she doesn’t embrace Korean culture. This annoyed me a lot because she chose to go to Korea for a fresh start. Nobody forced her to go and yet she blatantly rejects and holds prejudices against the people and their culture. She’s plain racist and I just got the big impression that Americans are ignorant red-necks with a superiority complex. I also found her reactions, especially to Jason, unrealistic and unrelatable. She got jealous at every little thing and honestly had no right to be – I mean FFS Jason is an idol and can do as he pleases. I couldn’t understand how she didn’t understand this especially with her famous music family background.

I did really like the secondary characters though. They were all fun and genuine. I liked Sophie’s easy-going nature and willingness to help Grace fit in. I absolutely adored Jason’s bandmate Yoon Jae. He was really sweet and accommodating. I think there could have been more development with the secondary characters. There were definitely more layers to Yoon Jae, and the relationship between Eden (the band) that could have been explored a lot further but the book concentrated heavily on the romance.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the romance or Jason to be honest. Grace was constantly trying to please him it seemed, or if she wasn’t doing that, she was being jealous and angry at him. Jason was hot and cold all the time and while I like my guys broody he had major issues. At times I thought he was trying to protect Grace but I couldn’t tell, because I felt the deeper parts of their relationship weren’t delved upon. It was practically insta-like on Grace’s part even though she kept trying to deny it and I was just cringing because he actually treated her like shit in the beginning.

One of the biggest things that annoyed me about this book was the way Grace acted all high-and-mighty about things she thought she knew. Especially in regards to music and K-pop. I’m sorry but the way she dissed K-pop and said it lacked emotion, had “parent-friendly chords”, that simply pop means the quality of music is lacking realllyyyyyy pissed me off. Just because she comes from a family of musicians doesn’t mean she knows everything. She didn’t even have any formal training and yet she was suddenly the expert? Oh hell to the no. FYI Grace, your country music and old rock doesn’t appeal to me. Everybody likes different things. As for lacking emotion – 2AM’s performance of Can’t Let You Go Even If I Die, there was this one stage where Changmin cried because of the emotions behind the song. And what about Sunggyu in the Paradise stages? When he drops to the floor I swear to god I want to cry every time. There are soooo many others too. I get feels every time B2ST performs.

On the other hand, Stout does a wonderful job of taking us around South Korea and exploring the country. We get a feel for Korean food, the lifestyle, culture, and my favourite – the shopping. The different kinds of foods and hawker stalls are described really well and even though I personally don’t like Korean food, I wanted to visit Korea just to experience the lifestyle.

Overall, I thought the ending was the most realistic part. When everything comes crashing down on Grace and all the emotions she kept locked inside broke free, I finally got a feel of a more mature girl who had been through a lot and wanted to escape. The MC’s voice aside, Hello, I Love You is also well written and Stout can definitely show (not tell).

Review: Starling (Secrets of the Eternal Rose #3) by Fiona Paul

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



Date Read: February 13 - 18 2015
Date Published: March 24th 2014
Publisher: HarperCollins Australia
Source: Review copy via publisher

Genre: Historical fiction/mystery
My Rating: 

Synopsis:

"In the stunning conclusion to the Secrets of the Eternal Rose trilogy, there is nothing more dangerous that a secret closely kept... Cass and Luca are fugitives, on the run from the law and the deadly Order of the Eternal Rose. As they separate to pursue the only evidence that could save them, their worlds-and their romance-are torn apart by spiteful friends and murderous enemies. When Cass finds herself ensnared in the Order's twisted plot, Falco emerges once again as her only hope for freedom. But it turns out Luca has a shocking scheme of his own. From ancient mercenaries to sly magicians, from clever courtesans to vengeful killers, no one can be trusted. In the breathtaking conclusion to the Secrets of the Eternal Rose trilogy, Cass must confront the Order and once and for all decide her destiny. Who will fly beside her when she finally finds her wings? This historical romantic thriller is perfect for fans of Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl, Anna Godberson's The Luxe, and Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty and The Diviners."

---

This was a serious case of “it’s not the book, it’s me” where I think I’ve just grown out of the style of this series. Had I read this maybe 3 years ago I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more but I found that Starling was too simplistic for my liking.

Cass has always been my biggest issue throughout the series and I find that her character is the weakest link, dragging the books down when they could have been a lot better. I seem to always have issues with heroines in historical novels as I find them annoying, weak, stubborn and more often than not, stupid when they’re trying to be brave. Either I’m not reading well-written historical novels or this is just the way they have to be and historical novels aren’t for me. There’s a definite struggle to keep the customs and limitations of women in accordance with history while balancing the need for character growth and acts of bravery. Throughout Starling, I found Cass’s actions to be rash and ignorant. Every time she said she was trying to be brave and she would think things through, she was actually running headlong into situations and putting everybody around her at risk. It killed me and I wanted to shake some sense into her. I feel that she hasn’t grown at all throughout the series and while brave, she’s also immature and ignorant of the consequences of her actions. What I did like though was that Cass made decisions for herself and not because of her love interests which is what I thought the previous books did.

As secondary characters go, everybody has always been black or white. You’re either a good guy or a bad guy. For me, the characters lacked the layering I’d expect of a conspiracy type historical story. I expected characters to have hidden agendas, complex motives and the like but instead, it was straight-laced “I want this, I will get this, that’s it.” And that, in turn, killed the plot.

Funnily enough my favourite part of this series was the love triangle. I’m a hater of love triangles and don’t find them necessary but from the beginning of The Secrets of the Eternal Rose, I’ve always been conflicted about the guys. In this world, a love triangle was plausible, made sense and I liked the differences between the two love interests. This series was one of the only ones where I actually had no clue where the romance was headed and who Cass would end up with – it could really have gone both ways. I loved Falco’s passion, intensity and volatility but at the same time I loved Luca’s stability, strength and unwavering support. Luca was a real constant while Falco came and left leaving a storm in his wake every time as he challenged her beliefs. I’m happy to say I would have been fine with whoever she ended up with but what’s more important is how Cass got there – I liked her decision process and the way the book progressed to allow her these revelations of which guy was right for her. I’m happy with her choice!

In terms of the plot, it was Cass’s determination to get to the Book of the Eternal Rose so I didn’t think there was much there as a lot had been established in Belladonna. Cass faced various obstacles but to me they weren’t major and I felt like I was driving on a straight road where I knew my destination. I wasn’t thrown any curve balls and I wasn’t really wow’d in any way.

The series definitely sits on the younger end of YA for me – I’m not sure why I think that. Some of the themes are definitely mature but it read like a MG book. The world-building is great as usual, with lovely (and not so lovely) detailed descriptions of Venice, filled with sights and smells. I felt that Paul was really on point with the historical accuracy of this. Despite all the issues I had, I found that Paul managed to tie up all the loose ends and bring the series to a satisfying close.

Review: Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

Firstly, thanks to Simon & Schuster Australia for this review copy <3



Date Read: February 7 - 8 2015
Date Published: August 1st 2013
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Mystery/thriller
My Rating: 

Synopsis:
"Elise is dead.And someone must pay.

Anna, her boyfriend Tate, best friend Elise and a group of close friends set off on a debaucherous Spring Break trip to Aruba. But paradise soon turns into a living nightmare when Elise is brutally murdered.

Soon Anna finds herself trapped in a foreign country and fighting for her freedom. As she awaits the judge's decree, it becomes clear that everyone is questioning her innocence. To the rest of the world, Anna isn't just guilty, but dangerous. As the court case unfolds the truth is about to come out, and it's more shocking than you could ever imagine..."

---

Sadly, I was the black sheep with regards to this book. It’s meant to have a mind blowing plot twist but I just didn’t feel it.

A spring break vacation gone wrong, Anna and her friends had planned on an amazing trip to the Caribbean island of Aruba when her best friend is murdered the first week they’re there. Anna and her boyfriend Tate are the prime suspects.

The story is told in a very unique fashion – there’s Anna’s current point of views in the aftermath of Elise’s murder as she’s held in custody but also flashbacks to Anna’s developing friendship with Elise and the others in the group. There’s also TV scripts and mobile phone transcripts to display how the case is going and to reveal evidence. As much as I liked the original way the plot was relayed, I grew restless after a while. I thought a lot of the stuff seemed to drag on – the court case, some of the flashbacks and I thought things could have moved a lot faster.

The evidence presented against Anna as the main suspect just wasn’t believable for me. The prosecutor Dekker is obviously grasping at straws and the way he presents the evidence against the accused just had me scoffing. The way the crime scene was presented for one, then using Anna’s social media against her, it was all so melodramatic and for a minor too? I just couldn’t believe it. Compared to all the crime shows I’ve watched I just didn’t feel that this was realistic or believable – it felt like an episode of Pretty Little Liars with less twists.

I didn’t like ANY of the characters in this book. Anna’s friends were all shallow and it seemed everybody was against her or everybody was a suspect and nobody was genuine. I got so exhausted reading about these shallow teenagers with their money thinking they could play God with someone’s life in the court room.

In terms of the plot twist at the end I just wasn’t shocked. By that point I’d run through so many scenarios in my head that the plot twist had been considered at some point and another one of the major plot points I’d already guessed from the very beginning.

I expected a lot more with the plot twist as well. After the revelation I thought some questions would be answered – did the stab wounds show signs of a struggle? Did Elise die from blood loss or did she die directly from a stab wound to the heart or stomach or neck? These would have indicated if Elise had been surprised by her attacker and hence signified if she may have known them or not. Stabs to fatal areas first may have indicated that her killer was merciful rather than stabbing her elsewhere to inflict as much pain as possible. What could they glean from the contaminated crime scene? I’m sure they could have gotten SOME facts. I just wanted more of these things.

I’ve yet to read a YA mystery that manages to leave me awestruck and mind blown (Ellie Marney’s Every Breath was close but the culprit was too easily identifiable for me so that’s where it fell flat). I’m waiting for a YA that mind fucks me the way Dan Brown does.

Review: King Hall (Forever Evermore #1) by Scarlett Dawn

Firstly, thanks to Harlequin Australia for this NetGalley <3



Date Read: September 8 2013
Release Date: August 1st 2013
Publisher: Escape Publishing (Harlequin Australia)
Source: NetGalley
Genre: Paranormal
My rating: 

Synopsis:

"King Hall — where the Mysticals go to learn their craft, get their degrees, and transition into adulthood. And where four new Rulers will rise and meet their destinies. 

Lily Ruckler is adept at one thing: survival. Born a Mystical hybrid, her mere existence is forbidden, but her nightmare is only about to start. Fluke, happenstance, and a deep personal loss finds Lily deeply entrenched with those who would destroy her simply for existing — The Mystical Kings. Being named future Queen of the Shifters shoves Lily into the spotlight, making her one of the most visible Mysticals in the world. But with risk comes a certain solace — her burgeoning friendships with the other three Prodigies: a wicked Vampire, a wild-child Mage, and a playboy Elemental. Backed by their faith and trust, Lily begins to relax into her new life.

Then chaos erupts as the fragile peace between Commoners and Mysticals is broken, and suddenly Lily realises the greatest threat was never from within, and her fear takes on a new name: the revolution."

---

I’m not sure how I feel about King Hall. Finishing this I knew I definitely wanted to know what happened in the next book but whilst reading I thought this book was shaky at times. You may notice the absence of my usual quotes from this review, well the few quotes I had managed to highlight didn’t really show what I’m saying.

Set in a world where humans are known as Commoners and the supernatural are known as Mysticals, protagonist Lily Ruckler is half-vampire and half-shape shifter. Being a hybrid is absolutely against the law so she has to keep her vampire side hidden. King Hall is the school where Mysticals learn to harness their power and eventually ascend into adulthood by embracing their power.

I liked Lily. She was strong, independent and just trying to make her way through high school whilst concealing the truth about her true being. She’s quite snarky and witty and I liked how she didn’t cower to anyone – not even the Rulers, the four kings who reigned over the Mysticals. Lily never let her boyfriend Dominic be a caveman where she was concerned, even though he was training to be the next king.

From this point on my review is going to be a bit weird, not following my usual structure because it’s really hard to talk about this book in a structured manner.

Firstly, Dominic, Pearl, Jake and Ezra are the four Mysticals of their respective races that are training to be the next set of Rulers. I liked their friendship but sometimes I felt that Dawn was trying too hard to make their friendship work. It was too easy, and at times I was sceptical at how they could be so understanding of each other. There wasn’t enough time for their friendship to really develop to such a trusting point and not have conflict between the characters that would test their trust with each other. They were also too different if that’s possible. I thought Dawn tried too hard to make them all unique and stand apart from another, so much so that I just didn’t believe it.

Secondly, for Lily to be named the future Queen of the Shifters I thought an unnecessary event occurred. This started at the beginning of the book and happened a LOT towards the end. This was where the book stood on the shakiest ground for me. I just felt like it was all so pointless – these characters whom I thought were so central to the story were discarded. Why bother in the first place? There were other ways such turning points could have come about but it just had to be this method to progress the plot. Yes dark times are coming and conflict is arising but don’t just mindlessly bring in a character who seemed important just to kill them off.

It just so happened that all the Rulers seem so perfect for each other – and I knew what Dawn was doing, she was trying to set the scene so they could end up together or something. This ties in with my previous two points about the relationships that formed too quickly and the unnecessary events. Too coincidental, it just happened to end up this way or something. No darnit NO.

Dawn definitely tried to build her world to show the Mysticals, their laws and political structures. I got a good glimpse into their various powers and the differences in the races through the trainee Rulers, however I felt that her writing definitely faltered. At times she showed but I also got a whole lot of tell in pretty slabs or thought monologues. Her style was sophisticated but I think it wasn’t expressed properly to really show me what I wanted.

I am definitely confused by this book. It was enjoyable though with its various fight scenes but I think it’s a real hit or miss for people.

Review: Landline by Rainbow Rowell

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



Date Read: June 25 - July 2 2014
Release Date: July 3rd 2014
Publisher: Orion (Hachette Australia)
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Adult contemporary
My rating:

Synopsis:

"Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it’s been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems besides the point now.

Maybe that was always besides the point.

Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn’t expect to him to pack up the kids and go home without her.

When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.

That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts...

Is that what she’s supposed to do?

Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?"

---

“Love isn’t always enough.”

Rainbow Rowell always manages to write such original stories. She takes common, everyday issues and weaves them into memorable tales that really stay with the reader. I definitely liked this more than Eleanor & Park (which wasn’t for me) but didn’t think it resonated with me as much as Fangirl (which I adored).

For those of you that don’t know, Landline is an adult book (much like Attachments which was also about communication). In the present day, it’s a week before Christmas and Georgie suddenly gets the opportunity to further her career greatly as a TV comedy writer. However, this means she has to work through Christmas and she’d promised her husband Neal she’d spend Christmas with him, their daughters and Neal’s mother all the way across the country in Omaha, Nebraska. The result is her staying in Cali while her husband takes their daughters to spend Christmas with Neal’s mum. You can say that Neal wasn’t exactly happy when he left.

Present day Georgie sort of annoyed me in the beginning – in the flashbacks to the past Rowell writes, Georgie was very active and upbeat. She was the one that pursued Neal and got things done. But as soon as Neal left with the kids, it was like Georgie fell apart. When Georgie’s mother assumes that Neal’s left her, Georgie determinedly denies this – so why does she act like it’s true when deep down she knows it’s not? Instead of her just falling apart with glazed eyes I wanted Georgie to get up and do something about it – or go about her life if Neal really didn’t leave her. What I did like about Georgie though was her freaking out about the phone thing – when she calls Neal in the past she thinks she’s going mad and it’s so relatable from that point forward.

“This was crazy. This was weird and crazy. It wasn’t real. But it was stil happening. If Georgie hung up, would it stop?”

Two secondary characters stood out for me for different reasons. Seth has been Georgie’s best friend since the beginning of college. He’s a constant in her life. And my god he ANNOYED me. He was like the fly that keeps incessantly buzzing at your ear which you can’t shake off or swat. I swear he’s the biggest cockblocker ever and half the time he knows it. I just didn’t understand why he had to be so imposing on Georgie’s life. I always felt that there was something between him and Georgie that never got resolved and it would just hang between them. Heather is Georgie’s sister, 18 years younger than her. I adored Heather. At just 18, she’s hilarious and so accepting. I loved how she was so observant and really cared about Georgie. Heather was definitely my favourite character in the book.

“I’ve been there from the beginning. Right there."

The biggest issue I had with this book (and my same issue with Eleanor & Park) is I didn’t see the emotional component behind how and why Georgie and Neal got together to begin with. Georgie admires his drawings, she’s definitely attracted to him but she’s attracted to Seth as well. From my point of view, Neal did nothing for Georgie. She was always pushing to get a response from him and he practically never responded. He was just so passive and seemed like he didn’t care. What was so great about Neal? And for Neal, what was so great about Georgie? She was always putting Seth first. Rowell also skipped over what they talked about so I had no idea what they could talk about that connected them – especially when Neal was drawing and not really responding to Georgie most of the time. I knew that with Seth, Georgie talked comedy things and TV shows but with Neal I had no clue. I got none of their personality quirks that attracted one to the other, just the physical components and then they’re saying they love each other?

Don’t get me wrong though, the romance was really sweet and true. The great thing about Rowell’s style is that her characters are so relatable. Her characters don’t have the typical tropes that many books have. Her characters are flawed in ways that are relatable – not extremely damaged, but dealing with everyday stresses. So I could see Georgie and Neal struggle with their marriage and their love (after they’d gotten together). I imagine that what Georgie and Neal are going through, is what people in real life go through. The story isn’t melodramatic, but mellow while incorporating that surreal calling-into-the-past element which added this really original flavour to what would seem like an ordinary book.

Overall, this is an enjoyable and relatable adult (non-YA) book. Rowell takes real life situations and adds a magical touch to make a really stand out story that resonates with the reader.

“From this moment onward.”

Spoiler Review: The One (The Selection #3) by Kiera Cass

This review contains spoilers for the book. If you don't want spoilers then don't read this review!

Date Read: May 6 - 7 2014
Release Date: May 6th 2014
Publisher: HarperCollins Australia
Source: Bought
Genre: Really Fluffy Dystopian
My rating: 

Synopsis:

"The Selection changed the lives of thirty-five girls forever. And now, the time has come for one winner to be chosen.

America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown—or to Prince Maxon's heart. But as the competition approaches its end and the threats outside the palace walls grow more vicious, America realizes just how much she stands to lose—and how hard she'll have to fight for the future she wants.

From the very first page of The Selection, this #1 New York Times bestselling series has captured readers' hearts and swept them away on a captivating journey... Now, in The One, Kiera Cass delivers a satisfying and unforgettable conclusion that will keep readers sighing over this electrifying fairy-tale long after the final page is turned."

---

Be prepared for a FULL spoiler review of The One. If you haven’t read the books, then STOP NOW. Or if you can’t be bothered reading them or The One and, like many, just want to know who America ends up with then please continue.

I didn’t receive The One as a review copy but I’m reviewing it anyway because I reviewed/ranted about the first two and my OCD won’t let me rest until I get this one out too.

Let me be clear that I don’t like this series. I can’t believe I wasted nearly 2 years of my life on these books. Like many, I was hooked in by the gorgeous cover for The Selection. Luckily, these books are all extremely quick reads otherwise I would have just dropped the series and asked somebody who she ends up with.

Oh yeah she ends up with Maxon THANK GOD. At least Cass had America end up with the right guy. She got one thing right.

Anyway I actually enjoyed The Selection way back when, you can find my review here. It was a quick read, very light and fluffy and not at all like a dystopian. That’s where it all went downhill because The Elite was a travesty. One of the most horrible books I’ve ever read, you can see my raging review here.

The One isn’t much better. America has practically no character growth. She’s always impulsive, can’t keep her mouth shut and crosses that line between bravery and stupidity. Near the middle she realises that she’s a potential princess and can boss people around… that was the extent of her character growth. What I really, really hated was her constant inner battle between Aspen or Maxon. THREE BOOKS. THREE BOOKS THIS HAS GONE ON FOR AND SHE COULDN’T MAKE UP HER DARN MIND.

Basically, her thought processes ran something similar to this:

“Oh Maxon is giving the other girls attention, I am so jealous, I really do like him”

“Aspen is here ohmygod he’s so hot I love him”

“Maxon is so sweet and I want him to kiss me”

“But Aspen might be looking what do I do?”

Seriously, the whole book.

The series also never got deep enough for me to take the political stuff seriously. Everything was all on the surface, even when rebels were introduced as a real threat. It happened in a rush; the Northern rebels apparently want to help the monarchy while the Southern rebels apparently just want power and are the real threat. Southern rebels come in and shoot everybody, Northern rebels save the day because, woah with just TWO short talks with Maxon and America, both parties are suddenly chummy and on-board with each other! America even runs to hug the Northern rebel female leader. Jesus Christ you could see the rainbows come out and flowers spring up in all the friendliness.

By the end the only thing that’s achieved is the removal of the caste system. Because really, what else could have fit when there really was no depth to the story? And even then, there is only talk of this… It doesn’t actually happen. Have no idea how Maxon is going to achieve this.

Oh and the ending was just so bloody convenient. Of course the king and queen get killed off so that Maxon can ascend to the throne and bring on his little revolution. Pfft yeah… Story ends with America walking down the aisle AND WE DON’T EVEN GET AN EPILOGUE. What happened to Aspen you ask? He ended up with Lucy because apparently they fell in love (so convenient) but I mean I guess that’s plausible because she was always such a damsel-in-distress.

How did this book get 3 stars again? I don’t know. It’s more a 2.5 but I liked the ending because Maxon is SO SWEET. He writes these beautiful letters to America when she isn’t present and I’ll admit my heart did race reading them. Maybe I gave this 3 because I also adore that cover. Meh.

It’s finally over.

Review: The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy #1) by Marie Rutkoski

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

Date Read: April 17 - 20 2014
Release Date: April 10th 2014
Publisher: Bloomsbury Australia
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Fantasy
My rating: 

Synopsis:
"Kestrel lives the lavish lifestyle of a Valorian General’s only daughter, and such riches come at a cost for Valoria’s captives – and for her. As the Herrani face death or slavery, Kestrel’s destiny is shaped by her father. He gives her two choices: join his army or get married. Desperate to realise her own future and knowing that it will invite scandal, she pays a small fortune for a handsome Herrani blacksmith at a slave auction. Arin not only plays Kestrel’s power games, he understands what she needs and soon she is torn between loyalty to her people and her feelings for him. But Arin is not all he seems and Kestrel will learn that the price she paid for him is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

The first novel in a stunning new trilogy, The Winner’s Curse is a story of romance, rumours and rebellion, where dirty secrets and careless alliances can be deadly – and everything is at stake."

---

“She shouldn’t have been tempted.”

Was it the sheer amount of stellar reviews that set my expectations sky-rocketing? Or perhaps that gorgeous cover – don’t judge me, you do it too – or maybe that intriguing blurb and enigmatic title? It was possibly an amalgamation of all these factors that made me want to love this book. I wanted to love this book so much. I wanted to adore it and scream it to the world like everybody else I know who has read and loved this. Instead, I felt a great sense of “meh” after the last page… And whilst reading too…

Kestrel is the daughter of the famous General Tarjan, they are a race known as the Valorians who have taken over the Herran peninsula and its people. The Valorians are a growing empire and Kestrel’s father is a famed soldier who has seized many pieces of land for the empire. Valorian law gives women the choice to either marry by the time they’re 20, or enlist in the military but Kestrel desires neither of these. Her eccentric ways induce in her a need for freedom. Her eccentric ways also result in her impulsively buying an extremely overpriced slave, and hence she is labelled as having “the winner’s curse”.

“You are the daughter of the most fabled general in Valorian history.”

Kestrel is a fantastic female protagonist. I found no flaws with her character and she was the highlight of the book. A strategist at heart, she looks at things pragmatically and has the ability to see through lies – not by magic, but with her sharp mind to observe and perceive nuances in people’s actions. I loved her inner turmoil to always try to do what’s right for the people she cares about. She also had a strong sense of justice which I admired and complemented her take on honour. A strong and resilient character, her patience and determination were something I wish I had.

“I see things quite clearly.”

As secondary characters go, I found the ensemble to be unsurprising. The best friend who only seemingly cares about fashion, the father with expectations, the male that is the ideal type for marriage but whose feelings Kestrel seems to be oblivious to. They were all… nice… but that was about it. I found nothing spectacularly different about their personalities that set them apart from other stories of this calibre.

I had a huge problem with Arin. Boy has problems. Major problems. He was so shrouded, and not in a good way. Whereas Kestrel’s emotions were practically bared, I only seemed to glimpse the surface of Arin. And he kept changing! Surly one moment and so sweet the next, his expressions could have meant anything but their meaning was never implied properly. I mean, was that the point in keeping his feelings a mystery because I couldn’t read him at all and I just wanted to shake him. There just wasn’t enough: enough of his facial expressions to gauge anything, enough of actions at all to know his intentions. I really needed more from him to be a real protagonist.

That being said the romance was a whole load of meh. What with Kestrel’s strategizing, logical mind and Arin’s apparent impassiveness I was trying to see how it was possible the romance even blossomed. Where was the passion, the intimacy… the bond?! Can’t for the life of me see what attracted Kestel to Arin, it seems she was just mystified by him and liked that he was the only one that was blatantly honest with her… when he felt like talking.

“People’s feelings were hard to know for certain.”

The Winner’s Curse really would have been better written from first person POV. I felt that it practically was because it seemed we only ever got Kestrel’s thoughts and emotions. Arin was a hell lot of tell and not enough show. But I guess it was necessary to show Arin’s secret. Which leads me on to the next point, the plot itself was my biggest disappointment. Maybe being written in first POV and keeping Arin’s secret, a well… secret… and revealing it to the reader through Kestrel’s observations would have made the plot suspenseful. I was sitting there waiting for something ground-breaking to happen. I was waiting to be shocked, stunned and on the edge of my seat in suspense. I wanted my heart beat to increase and climb and plummet but instead it was a steady 80bpm. I really did like that ending though!

Rutkoski is a really good writer. But her world lacked the detail I craved in a fantasy novel. There is no denying she writes really well, evident in the way she makes Kestrel’s strategizing so relatable. Her style is sophisticated and definitely one of the better YA authors out there with her dialogue and grasp on language/syntax.

Obviously, this wasn’t for me but from the amount of amazing reviews it’s highly likely most other people will like it. I was one of the few black sheep in this situation.

“Choose.”

Review: INK (Paper Gods #1) by Amanda Sun

Firstly, thanks to Harlequin UK for this NetGalley <3

Date Read: April 9 – April 13 2013

Release Date: June 25^th 2013 in US/July 5th 2013 in UK

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Source: NetGalley

Genre: Paranormal Fantasy

My rating: 

Synopsis:
“I looked down at the paper, still touching the tip of my shoe. I reached for it, flipping the page over to look.

Scrawls of ink outlined a drawing of a girl lying on a bench.

A sick feeling started to twist in my stomach, like motion sickness.

And then the girl in the drawing turned her head, and her inky eyes glared straight into mine.

On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets.

Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive.”

---

“The notebook exploded with pages as it trailed down, the papers catching in the air and filling the room like rain. They twirled and twisted as they came down, white edges framing thick lines of black ink and charcoal.”

Ink is one of my most anticipated releases for 2013. Ever since I saw the cover and read the synopsis last year I was eagerly awaiting its release, and when I was approved for the eGalley I was so excited! The concept is so original and the idea of Japanese mythology, art and cherry blossoms really had me hooked as I’m quite interested in Japanese culture. Sadly, Ink wasn’t as good as I was hoping it to be. I was so looking forward to it. I really wanted to love it. I really wanted to give it 4 or even 5 hearts/stars. But alas I just couldn’t. Ink was still an overall enjoying read (hence 3 hearts) and I’ll definitely be buying the physical copy.

My biggest issue was with the female protagonist, Katie Greene. She was one of the most annoying main characters I have ever read. I like a character who questions thing, but Katie was borderline stalking! She just wouldn’t stop following Tomohiro around, even when it nearly got her killed. And in such situations she was utterly useless, all she would do was scream and cower in fear. Also, holy crap the amount of times this girl cries. I really wanted to slap Katie and tell her to grow up – she’s 16 not 5 for Pete’s sake! I don’t want to use the word cry baby but I think she came close to it. As female MCs go, Katie was one of the most infuriating ever. I understood that she was really sad and lonely about moving to Japan, especially with the reasons behind it – but I also thought she was a bit ungrateful to her aunt Diane who was doing everything in her power to make her feel welcome. Katie spent a lot of time moping and not enough appreciating what was around her!

“It was too awful. Tears rolled down my cheeks and I stood to leave.”

Secondary characters wise, I thought they were very reminiscent of those in J-dramas. There’s the hyperactive best friend who’s all kawaii and then there’s the two love interests. Both of which are insanely good looking and of course one of them starts off as a friend and it’s obvious he likes her but she doesn’t see him that way even though he’s kind to her and rescues her more often than not. Can I just say I really like Jun?

I generally liked Tomohiro. He’s the troubled teen who is extremely talented but because of some dark secret in his past he’s distanced himself from others and stopped doing what he loves. I could sort of understand his moodiness and brooding nature with the burden he had and I generally liked his protectiveness of Katie. It was really cute and I think Sun actually captured the Japanese teenage culture really well with the way the characters acted around their crushes. I could really see the difference in Tomo-kun’s demeanour as opposed to someone of Western culture when he tried to express his feelings.

“Ore sa… Kimi no koto ga…” (I, you know… About you, I…)

I really couldn’t handle the insta-love in Ink. The speed at which Katie’s feelings developed for Tomohiro (I think this is partly attributed to her stalker-like nature) was unbelievable and their relationship from there was just happening too fast. It was cute and sweet at times but I thought the romance should have been slowed down a bit. Insta-love is what really ruins the reading experience for me and I have to say that in this case, a lot of my hopes of the story died when I realised that Katie was falling for Tomohiro way too quickly. There was also a near co-dependence in the way the two couldn’t stay away from each other – more so Katie (again… stalker-ish nature).

“I knew that I couldn’t live without him, even when he was infuriating.”

“… and then the softness of his lips pressed against mine and the world caught fire, everything light and flame and burning.”

The pace was a bit unsettling at times with the way Katie just rushed into things and believed everything instantly. I mean, if I started seeing my sketches moving, I would 1) think I’m hella tired 2) think I’ve been staring at the paper too long 3) have let my imagination run wild 4) have gone nuts. And yet Katie, despite questioning her sanity once, instantly thinks it’s Tomohiro that’s doing it. This left me really sceptical because nobody in their right mind should be jumping to the conclusion that moving sketches are the result of others… so of course I thought Katie wasn’t really in her right mind – JOKES. Maybe. I could see Sun trying to take a step back sometimes and have Katie question herself, but it wasn’t enough with the way the story was progressing.

There were actually some really good things about Ink, I like to get the bad out of the way first and then concentrate on the good!

The plot itself was extremely original and I did really enjoy reading about an entirely different world and culture. Sun described Japan so vibrantly I want to go back there again. Her incorporation of Japanese mythology was also really nicely done. I liked her take on the story of the gods and the way this was weaved into the present.

And the world building, woah! Such gorgeous descriptions, everything was really picturesque and I could feel the oriental touch through her writing. The use of kendo, mentions of food and especially cherry blossoms, really made me feel like I was in Japan. Sun’s use of Japanese further enhanced this and I loved it – she never overused words, and when she used phrases it was never telling, but rather, showing what they meant which I really thought was an achievement!

“The entire park was bathed in pink, thousands of petals floating on the breeze as if it were raining sakura… Cherry blossoms littered the gravel paths, the bright green grass and the sluggish moats that pulled the petals from the park.”

I think I should also have a special mention to the formatting of the book. I’ve seen pictures of the physical copy and it’s gorgeous! Heck even my eARC was so pretty! There are elegant sketches throughout, chapter headings have intricate ink drop patterns, page corners have adorable little sketches and cherry blossom petals add a refreshing touch throughout the book.

Despite some setbacks, Ink is a commendable debut by Amanda Sun. A unique story that blends modern Japan with myths of their Gods, amidst a brilliantly built world filled with delectable foods and falling cherry blossoms.

“行ってらっしゃい” itterasshai (Go and return safely)

Review: Breathe (Sea Breeze #1) by Abbi Glines

Date Read: November 16 - 18 2012
Release Date: May 16th 2011

Publisher: Self-published
Source: Bought
Genre: Contemporary
My rating: 
Synopsis:
"Sadie White's summer job isn't going to be on the beach life-guarding or working at rental booths like most kids her age. With her single mother's increasing pregnancy and refusal to work, Sadie has to take over her mother's job as a domestic servant for one of the wealthy summer families on a nearby island.

When the family arrives at their summer getaway, Sadie is surprised to learn that the owner of the house is Jax Stone, one of the hottest teen rockers in the world. If Sadie hadn't spent her life raising her mother and taking care of the house she might have been normal enough to be excited about working for a rock star.

Even though Sadie isn't impressed by Jax's fame, he is drawn to her. Everything about Sadie fascinates Jax but he fights his attraction. Relationship's never work in his world and as badly as he wants Sadie, he believes she deserves more. By the end of the summer, Jax discovers he can't breathe without Sadie.

But can their love overcome the disparity in their lifestyles? Or will they have to learn how to breathe again?"

---

Ok so I had really high hopes for this because I liked Just For Now. Imagine the disappointment I felt when I started reading and the good story was ruined by the writing style! The sentences felt too short and the writing unsophisticated. I also found it really hard to believe that Sadie fell in love with Jax THAT quickly.

HOWEVER, it did get a lot better after the second half of the book and I mean A LOT better. The story smoothed out, sentences had more a substance to them and I felt like emotions were finally conveyed. For the first half of the book, it didn't feel like a first person point of view, more like some retelling which annoyed me but as I said, this improved with the second half - I could finally feel Sadie's hurt and emotions.

*SPOILERS INTERSPERSED WITH REVIEW*

Elaborating on my dislike of Sadie's falling in with Jax: it was extremely quick and I was just like how did you go from your heart skipping a few beats at his smile one day to being IN LOVE with Jax after another 2 days? It took her like less than a week to fall in love with him. WTF?! But I guess this was made plausible by his actions like the supermarket-9-year-old-girl scene. Again, this would have been way more believable had everything been expressed and written better!
E.g.
"His fingers never left mine as walked back to the house. The only way to explain it is to say that it was very close to an out of body experience. Holding hands with Jax Stone and feeling we connected. He didn't seem like a rock star anymore. He wasn't the guy I saw on posters and in magazines. He wasn't the hottie I'd seen on MTV. He was just Jax."

So um ok I know using short sentences is good for emphasis and that was relevant to the latter of the paragraph but the first bit? I swear there are these things called commas that can be utilised. "Holding hands with Jax Stone and feeling we connected." Um what. That was all there is to explain the "out of body experience"? How about some verbs like "the way his fingers lace through mine made my skin tingle, his long fingers stroking the palm of my hand sent electric currents up my arm and warmed me. That current was like a pull that connected me to him" OR SOMETHING IDK? Because well yeah I had to suffer through paragraphs like that throughout so much of the first half which was why I really didn't connect to Sadie and feel the romance till the second half.
Ah now the second half. Heart-wrenching to say the least. The second half was the saving grace of the novel which was good because I'd rather it get better than it start off good and just go downhill. I finally felt more of Jax's emotions for Sadie and could relate to her and heartbreak as well as everything that was going on in her life (YES FEELS!)
"I love you more than anyone or anything. You've somehow become the song inside of me. It's because I love you so much I'm going to walk out of your life and allow you to heal and find someone worthy of you..."
YES THANK YOU I WAS BEGINNING TO WONDER IF I HAD SOMEHOW BECOME VOID OF EMOTIONS!
See the improvement? More descriptive, more heartfelt, more emotions! So yes for me it got a lot better second half onwards and at one point I really teared up and my heart was clenching and I was like "ERMAGHERD JAX!"

Character wise I thought Jax was a bit too good to be true/fake at first but I soon realised he really WAS drawn to Sadie's immunity to his stardom. I grew to really love him by the second half (yes always that second half of the book I know) and I found his need to be with Sadie really sweet and romantic.

Sadie was annoying at the start because she kept saying how she was so mature (this got really repetitive and I'm just like "OK I GET IT NOW SHOW ME MORE OF HOW YOU'RE SO MATURE") but she seemed really selfish with Jax at times with her jealousy - I'll attribute that to first love and let it slide. I like how she becomes stronger for her mother's birth and finally puts thoughts of Jax aside and she comes out the better person. Now THAT is the maturity I was looking for.

Now, Marcus Hardy. YES I LOVE THIS BOY. Here was a character I liked INSTANTLY. As I was reading, I was aware of Because of Low so I had him and Low at the back of my mind but I still really wanted Sadie to pick Marcus at some point in the story. I think it would have been a nice growing up lesson/self-realisation experience for her - how she would feel dating a normal guy as opposed to how she felt about Jax. But alas it didn't happen and the whole time I was thinking "I'LL HAVE YOU MARCUS <3" lol. I could really feel his love and pain and his actions made me feel so bittersweet. He's so caring, considerate and selfless I just wanted to hold him (*rocks in corner as I said about his feels*) and take away all his hurt.

The good eventually outweighed the bad and I was glad I didn't put this down. The end was definitely worth it!