Personal Rating: 4 Stars Goodreads Rating at time of review: 3.77 Stars Content Rating: PG-13 (for language) Chronic overachiever Prudence Barnett is always quick to cast judgment on the lazy, rude, and arrogant residents of her coastal town. Her dreams of karmic justice are fulfilled when, after a night out with her friends, she wakes up with the sudden ability to cast instant karma on those around her. Pru giddily makes use of the power, punishing everyone from public vandals to mean gossips, but there is one person on whom her powers consistently backfire: Quint Erickson, her slacker of a lab partner. Quint is annoyingly cute and impressively noble, especially when it comes to his work with the rescue center for local sea animals. When Pru resigns herself to working at the rescue center for extra credit, she begins to uncover truths about baby otters, environmental upheaval, and romantic crossed signals—not necessarily in that order. Her newfound karmic insights reveal how thin the line is between virtue and vanity, generosity and greed, love and hate . . . and fate. (goodreads.com) If you have read my reviews for very long, you are probably aware that Marissa Meyer is one of my favorite authors of all time. If you were not aware of that fact, just know that I am automatically suspicious of anyone who dislikes the Lunar Chronicles. Librarian diplomacy forces me to say that you are free to like what you like and dislike what you dislike, but I don’t know if we can ever really be friends if you actively dislike the Lunar Chronicles. Moving on. Since Marissa Meyer is one of my favorite authors, you may have two questions for me. 1. Corrie, why the heck did it take you so long to read this book that was released two years ago? 2. Corrie, why are you even bothering to review this since it’s a Marissa Meyer book and you obviously love it? To answer question one: Well, you know what, the past two years have been just a smidge wack-a-doodle and my reading habits, like everything else, have changed a bit. Also, even though I love this author, I don’t typically read contemporary romance, which may have somewhat deterred me when looking at this book. To answer question two: Hold your horses antsy pants, I promise this review is going to be more than me just gushing over a book I liked… though I can’t promise that there won’t be any fangirling at all. This is a Marissa Meyer book we’re talking about. When I started reading this book I was actually extremely disappointed. Shocking the entire world, including myself, I was not immediately drawn in. I think part of the problem was that I started reading in the winter and this is very much a summer book. The other major problem was that I could not stand the main character, Prudence. *dramatic gasp here* She is still probably my least favorite Marissa Meyer MC, but I did like her better by the end of the book. However, after several attempts at reading the first few chapters and not getting into it when I read this book in the winter. I decided to peace out and try again in the summertime. When I returned to Instant Karma in the warm opening days of this summer, I found it much more to my liking. There are some books that can be read no matter the weather, but I’ve found that with summer books, for me, it has to be summer when I’m reading them (otherwise I get extra sad when I look out the window and see Midwest winter slapping me in the face). I was still constantly annoyed with Prudence even if I was enjoying the book more. Her self-righteousness was so frustrating. I know she was supposed to be like that, because that was part of her character development arc, but goodness gracious she was irritating at the beginning. She was still sort of annoying at the end of the story, but it felt more manageable as a reader and she definitely had more redeeming qualities. Plus, it was nice that she wasn’t just a copy and paste of Meyer’s other characters, as some authors tend to do. Once I hit chapter 16 (they’re fairly short chapters) I was fully sucked into the book. I needed to know what was going to happen to the marine animal rescue center and what business tactics Prudence would try to save all of the adorable sea lions. Also, the romance in this book was so cute it made me want to scream for joy. Seriously though, is it any wonder I don’t want to get married when my expectations for relationships come from Marissa Meyer books? She has set the bar too high. No mortal man can compare. No romantic gestures will ever live up to the sweetness of fictional ones. I literally hugged the book when… well I can’t say what happened exactly because it’s a spoiler, but just know that it involved a Beatles song and it was freaking adorable. It was also semi-educational! Lots of interesting things about marine animals! And, though I am not a fan of the ocean, it did kind of make me want to go snorkeling. Not enough to actually do it, but the book made it sound nice. There was also a good message about environmental awareness which I appreciated. I’m a little disappointed that I live in a landlocked state and can’t organize a beach cleanup event. Maybe a river bank clean up event? Or maybe I’ll just keep picking up trash on my walk to work. It doesn’t really have the same flare, but it’ll have to do. Like most contemporary romances, there wasn’t really any intense sort of plot beyond saving the rescue center, but it was still a fun fluffy read. Very different from Marissa Meyer’s other books which all have intense, high stakes plotlines. This book featured just a dash of magic. Hardly enough to really be considered magic, but it was still there. Prudence is able to apply karma to people she sees doing wrong things. For instance, she sees a toddler smash someone else’s sandcastle and then THE TODDLER IS OBLITERATED BY COSMIC FORCES WHEN A HORRIFYING… beachball… FLIES FROM THE HEAVENS AND… bops him in the face. The “instant karma” that she deals out does create a few dilemmas and a bit of excitement, but you hardly even notice that she has the ability while reading. I almost forgot to mention it in this review, honestly. A fun plot device, but not actually a big part of the emotion of the story. While I started off disappointed and alarmed that I might not like a book written by one of the queens of YA writing, I ended up in a fit of happy giggles. My cat truly must think I am delusional when she sees me stare at paper for hours on end, laughing and yelling for no apparent reason. Bless that sweet kitty for putting up with me. If you are in the mood for a summer romance featuring adorable sea lions (definitely look at pictures of sea lions while reading this book) and just a pinch of magic, then this may be the book for you! It definitely got me out of my reading slump so expect more reviews soonish! Now, you must excuse me because I’m off to drool over the fact that Marissa Meyer has another book coming out this year (it’s called Cursed and it’s the sequel to Gilded, which I will be reading later this year, maybe even this summer yet, we’ll see). Thanks for reading! GIFs from giphy.com
Cover from goodreads.com
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Normally, I don’t review graphic novels on this blog. Generally, I enjoy the graphic novels I read, which makes for boring reviews and I also don’t really know how to review them because they all differ so much from each other. The art is different depending on the artist, the dialogue used can be heavy or light, then there’s the actual story and characters to consider, but it’s much more difficult to get to know the characters in a graphic novel because we generally only see facial expressions and read the things they say. Basically, I’m too lazy to put the effort into a quality review for each graphic novel I read (and I read a lot of them). So, rather than review each one individually, I thought it would be fun to just clump them all together and do a mass graphic novel review of some of the ones I’ve read most recently. It will mostly be bullet point reviews to keep things short and sweet, but I may go off on a tangent now and then. You know I can’t resist a good tangent. I also figured I would include an age recommendation based on where they are shelved at the library and the content. But without further ado, let’s get to the books!
And there you have it! Those are some of the graphic novels I’ve read recently. Do you like this style of review where it’s a whole bunch of books clumped together? Should I do more graphic novel reviews this way? Leave your opinions below if you feel like it. I had fun doing things this way so I may review more graphic novels in the future. I am always reading them so it shouldn’t be a problem to come up with more.
Until then, I hope you will try out some of these or other graphic novels that look interesting to you! Thanks for reading! All images from goodreads.com Personal Rating: 3.5 Stars Goodreads rating at time of review: 3.89 stars Content Rating: Strong PG-13 for violence and death. Trigger Warnings: Rape is alluded to and threatened, animal abuse, child death, abusive father. In the mythical desert kingdom of Achra, an ancient law forces sixteen-year-old Princess Kateri to fight in the arena to prove her right to rule. For Kateri, winning also means fulfilling a promise to her late mother that she would protect her people, who are struggling through windstorms and drought. The situation is worsened by the gang of Desert Boys that frequently raids the city wells, forcing the king to ration what little water is left. The punishment for stealing water is a choice between two doors: behind one lies freedom, and behind the other is a tiger. But when Kateri’s final opponent is announced, she knows she cannot win. In desperation, she turns to the desert and the one person she never thought she’d side with. What Kateri discovers twists her world—and her heart—upside down. Her future is now behind two doors—only she’s not sure which holds the key to keeping her kingdom and which releases the tiger.(goodreads.com) When I first read the description of this book I thought it sounded awesome. A princess who has to fight her suitors in a gladiator style arena in order to prove her worthiness of the throne? That’s a fantastic concept! It’s like taking the Bachelor/Bachelorette-trope, where a bunch of eligible individuals are competing for the prince/princess’ hand in marriage, and changing it so they don’t have to compete against each other, they have to compete against the princess herself. Which sounds amazing, right? Sadly, that part of the story does not get much coverage so if that’s what you’re looking for, this book doesn’t really provide. However, it was still a fairly enjoyable read! Apparently, this book is a retelling of a short story called The Lady, or the Tiger? by Frank R. Stockton which was originally published in 1882. I had never heard of this story before and I didn’t feel particularly inclined to read the entirety of it, but I did read a summary. Basically, there is a desert kingdom and the justice system is this: when you commit a crime, you are put in an arena and given the choice of two doors. One of them has a hungry tiger behind it and the other has a woman who you have to marry if you pick her door. As the story goes, there is a young man whom the princess of the kingdom falls in love with but he ends up in the arena one way or another. If it were a modern fairy tale, you might be inclined to think the princess would put herself behind one of the doors and they’d live happily ever after. But this is a fairytale from the 1800s. So, what happens is that the princess finds out who the woman behind the door is going to be and which door she’s going to be behind. Turns out, the woman who might end up married to the princess’ boyfriend is a woman that the princess hates. So the question that the reader is left with at the end of the story is if the princess tells her boyfriend to open the door with the hated woman or the tiger. Basically, would the princess rather have her man married to a woman she dislikes or eaten by a wild animal? And honestly, this book didn’t really deliver all that much on the retelling end of things either. Although, I guess since there isn’t really that much to retell to begin with, that’s not surprising. There were tigers (who are very much mistreated) and there was a part where someone that Princess Kateri cares about has to choose between tigers and a woman. However, the princess doesn’t really hate the woman, she just kind of distrusts her. Also the whole moral dilemma of the princess being forced to choose loses its impact on the story because there’s a man manipulating her choices behind the scenes. Despite all of this, it was still an interesting read. I was caught up in the plot and excited to see where the story would go with each chapter. The events of the story were compelling and kept my attention. How would everyone survive the drought? Who’s at fault, the king or the Desert Boys? Will Kateri be able to learn enough skills to defeat her final suitor? It was well written and I wanted to know what would happen next. However, I was not at all connected to the characters. You may recall I had this same issue with Annie Sullivan’s other book, A Touch of Gold. Great, exciting, fascinating plot… dull, flat characters that are difficult to relate to or care about. Take Princess Kateri for example. At the beginning of the book she is kind of awful and she’s supposed to be. She has been raised with a hateful lie about the people in her kingdom and since she believes that lie and fights for that lie, it makes her unlikable. She definitely changed her tune by the end of the book, but I kind of got the impression that, if there wasn’t concrete proof of the truth, she would have stubbornly clung to what she’d been told her whole life. It didn’t really feel like she developed as a character, it felt like she learned more facts and acted logically with the new information. By the end, it felt like she was exactly the same as she was at the beginning of the book, but with more friends and she knew the truth of her situation. The other characters had pretty much no development at all. The good guys stayed good and noble, the bad guys stayed bad and conniving. No one changed, we just learned more information about them from Kateri’s viewpoint. One more random gripe at the end here, just because I want to say it: I’m not sure the author has ever spent much time around sand. There is a point where the characters get into a “sand fight” and throw sand at each other. Have you ever tried to throw sand at someone? It just goes POOF and spreads little grains everywhere. Unless it’s wet sand (in which case it goes SPLOP rather than POOF), but they definitely weren’t wasting water in the middle of a desert drought to throw sand at each other. Also, WHY THE HECK WOULD YOU THROW SAND AT EACH OTHER WHEN YOU ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A DROUGHT AND HAVE TO CONSERVE WATER AND ARE CONSTANTLY DEHYDRATED?! Sand is so dry and itchy and dirty. It’s coarse and rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere! It would make you so thirsty to be out in the sun and sand and then it would also make you want to take a bath. Nope. Terrible idea to play in the sand when you are in a drought, it really is foolish. Because of the lack of character development in Annie Sullivan’s stories, I don’t think I will be reading anything of hers again (but never say never). Despite the fun plots, I just get so bored with her characters. They are difficult to relate to and they just feel so flat and one dimensional.
Still, this was a good read and if you care more for the action and plot and don’t really care about characters. I know there are people out there who prefer plot-driven to character-driven, I’m just not one of them. But if you are, then totally check out this book! Well, I’m off to go battle my many, many suitors in an arena so that I can prove myself to be worthy of the throne. Until next time! Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42281646-tiger-queen Personal Rating: 3.5 stars Goodreads rating at time of review: 3.3 stars Content rating: PG-13 (for language, a bit of intense smooching, and dangerous actions) Annabelle’s life has always been Perfect with a capital P. Then bestselling young adult author Lucy Keating announces that she’s writing a new novel—and Annabelle is the heroine. It turns out, Annabelle is a character that Lucy Keating created. And Lucy has a plan for her. But Annabelle doesn’t want to live a life where everything she does is already plotted out. Will she find a way to write her own story—or will Lucy Keating have the last word? (goodreads.com) This was an odd, but enjoyable book. I picked it up to read between books in a series that I’m reading right now. I just wanted something light and fairly contemporary to read in short bursts since the books in the series I’m reading are ones that you really have to sit down and focus on. This book has short chapters and there isn’t much to keep track of in the way of plot so it would have made a good “short bursts” read, except for the fact that it was nearly impossible to only read one chapter at a time. Even though I am not much of a contemporary-romance reader (although I’m not 100% sure this can be considered contemporary) this book really sucked me in and if I read one chapter then I immediately had to read another. The chapters are short and move the story along quickly. Despite not even liking the characters all that much, I ended up staying up way past my bedtime (on a work night!) to finish reading it. I don’t think I physically could have put it down at that point. And my cat did her best to make me stop reading to no avail. So, no it was not the best book I’ve ever read, but by golly it was enjoyable. The characters annoyed me most of the time, especially the MC, Annabelle, but I still really wanted to know what happened to everyone. One thing that kind of bothered me was the fact that the author made herself one of the characters, but kind of not, but also yes. Like, the author of this book is Lucy Keating, right? And then, in the story of the book, Annabelle meets an author called Lucy Keating who turns out to be sort of the antagonist god-like character in the story. And the facts given about Lucy Keating in the book are not true of IRL Lucy Keating as far as I can find (Book Keating has written many more books than IRL Keating). Obviously I do not know IRL Keating personally, but I feel like Book Keating could have just been an author character with a different name. It got very confusing to try and figure out if the fourth wall was being broken or simply bent a smidge. The romance in the story was cute if kinda meh. I wasn’t sure about how the love triangle was resolved, but I am no expert on matters like these and I don’t want to spoil it so I won’t tell you much about it. I did enjoy the writing tips sprinkled throughout the book. It was kind of fun because it gave you advice on writing a story while being about a girl struggling to “write her own story”. It felt similar to If Cats Disappeared from the World—a sci-fi that’s not really a sci-fi because it’s actually talking about something deeper, using the fantastical to speak about the everyday human experience. In this case, it was about how Annabelle usually had every moment of her life spelled out by schedules and planners and how it’s like she’s writing out her life and then someone actually starts writing her life and she has to figure out how to break free of that. So, it doesn’t focus on the crazy aspect of having an author control your actions so much as it is about breaking free of your set ways and being willing to make your own choices. And romance. It focused a lot on romance, which was not really anything like If Cats Disappeared from the World. If you are looking for a cute love triangle romance with some self-reflection stuff thrown in and just a taste of sci-fi/fantasy to top it all off, then this might be the book for you! As I’m not sure it is necessarily a “good” book, but I had fun reading it and I hope you do too if you decide to pick it up. Now, I’d better get back to corralling my own misbehaving fictitious characters (they’ve really gotten out of hand lately…). Thanks for reading, see you next time! Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30653879-literally Personal Rating: 3.5 Stars Goodreads Rating (as of a week after book’s release): 3.68 Stars Content Rating: R (for disturbing violence) Trigger Warnings: Racism, torture, SO MUCH VIOLENCE, mentions of suicide. As an African tightrope dancer in Victorian London, Iris is used to being strange. She is certainly a strange sight for leering British audiences, always eager for the spectacle of colonial curiosity. But Iris also has a secret that even “strange” doesn’t capture… She cannot die. Haunted by her unnatural power and with no memories of her past, Iris is obsessed with discovering who she is. But that mission gets more complicated when she meets the dark and alluring Adam Temple, a member of a mysterious order called the Enlightenment Committee. Adam seems to know much more about her than he lets on, and he shares with her a terrifying revelation: the world is ending, and the Committee will decide who lives…and who doesn’t. To help them choose a leader for the upcoming apocalypse, the Committee is holding the Tournament of Freaks, a macabre competition made up of vicious fighters with fantastical abilities. Adam wants Iris to be his champion, and in return he promises her the one thing she wants most: the truth about who she really is. If Iris wants to learn about her shadowy past, she has no choice but to fight. But the further she gets in the grisly tournament, the more she begins to remember—and the more she wonders if the truth is something best left forgotten. (goodreads.com) First off, I won an ARC of this in a Goodreads giveaway, so thank you to the publisher and to Goodreads. Secondly, LOOK AT THAT GORGEOUS COVER! Oh my goodness, I love this cover so much. I mean, I adore any cover with a girl with swords on the front (who doesn’t?) but make that girl wearing a fabulous tutu while tightrope walking over a blazing city? That’s pretty darn cool, man. Apart from the lovely cover, the writing of this book really draws you in right away. I had plans to read something else before this book, but I happened to read the first few sentences of the first page and then suddenly it was midnight and I was five chapters in. Because it is such a long book (almost 500 pages) there were points that lulled a bit and the momentum slowed to a point where I would put the book down and not pick it up again for a while, but usually it didn’t take long to get back into the swing of things. This is definitely an action packed book. Some of the action was a little hard to follow at times, leaving me confused as to what just happened, but usually by the end of the chapter things were made clear. Although I ultimately understood what was happening in the book, there were small pieces that seemed to contradict themselves or just weren’t written super clearly and made it difficult to understand what was happening. Again, these things cleared themselves up for the most part, but there are still a few instances that left me confused. One such part was a point where the MC, Iris, was given a ribbon by a friend, but then it seemed like another character exploded that ribbon, but then she had it again in the next chapter. Maybe they were two different ribbons? I’m not sure. One thing I am sure of was how incredibly violent this book was. Goodness gracious. Let me just lay it out for you: there’s a cannibal in this book. And the “mealtimes” are described in vivid detail. Usually books aren’t graphic enough that images linger in my mind, but there is one scene in particular that I’m pretty sure is going to haunt me forever. I’m still cringing thinking about it. I don’t advise eating anything while reading the fight scenes. I don’t care if it’s saltine crackers. The grisly details will upset your stomach even if you aren’t eating and haven’t eaten for hours. I literally shuddered every time this character showed up. There were other aspects of this book that were violent too. The other most upsetting violence was done by a scientist performing inhumane experiments. I won’t say much because of spoilers, but the way this scientist treats other characters, particularly those of color, is pretty much just as horrific as what the cannibal does except he doesn’t eat flesh. If this book doesn’t give me nightmares I’ll be surprised. But enough about the gore. Let’s talk about some positives, eh? I was pleasantly surprised to find that this book hosts a full cast of super-powered characters. If you know me, you know I’m a sucker for superhero-esque plotlines. Especially when there are so many fun powers! You may be asking, what kind of superpowers are in this book (Well, we got everything nowadays. We got a guy who jumps, we got a guy who swings, we got a guy who crawls up the walls. You gotta be more specific.) and the answer to that is pretty much all of the wacky and wonderful ones. You don’t really have your usual super-strength, flight, superspeed things. It’s more like X-men style powers with shapeshifters, portal-makers, and fire breathers. Iris, apart from her undying-ness, was also a tight-rope walker by trade and I wish that had been brought up more in the story. There were a few minor parts where her skills came in handy, but not nearly enough. I would have loved to see her have to walk a tightrope to further the plot, or at least have more references to the circus that was mostly just at the beginning of the book. I also liked how the secrets of the story were revealed. Sometimes it frustrated me that things were being revealed so slowly, but I did like that the reader gets to piece things together themself as they go along. The clues are all there, but you have to put them together. (Speaking of clues, I just briefly want to complain that there was a whole chapter dedicated to this super elaborate riddle based in opera, English history, and Norse Mythology and they barely spent any time going over it! It made me so mad because it was such a complicated riddle that I could only figure out bits and pieces of it with help from Google and the characters only solved, like, two parts of it! I really wanted a full analysis, but alas, it was not to be. Which was honestly probably good for the pacing of the story, but STILL!) There was a bit of romance in this story, and it was fairly triangular (although, there was also another guy who might have made it a sort of square, but there was also another girl who was interested in one of the boys, so kind of a love pentagon thing going on). The “who will she end up with?” thing didn’t really go so well in my opinion because there was really only one serious option, but the romance, along with several major plot points are still not resolved by the end of the book so we’ll have to wait until the sequel to find out if I’m right. I should probably wrap this up before I give too much away. Final notes: I really liked this book even if I was confused about sections sometimes. I thought Iris was an interesting and likeable character and even though I wasn’t fond of him, I thought Adam was intriguing too along with many of the others. If you are into books with high stakes competitions, impending doom, super powers, crazy rich people, and kick-patooty girls and you can stomach the astounding violence, then I definitely recommend that you give The Bones of Ruin a read. I will be eagerly awaiting any news of the sequel. Until next time! Image: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43699470-the-bones-of-ruin Personal Rating: 3.5 Stars Goodreads Rating: 4.04 Content Rating: PG-13 (for language and alcohol consumption) Izumi Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in—it isn’t easy being Japanese American in her small, mostly white, northern California town. Raised by a single mother, it’s always been Izumi—or Izzy, because “It’s easier this way”—and her mom against the world. But then Izzy discovers a clue to her previously unknown father’s identity… and he’s none other than the Crown Prince of Japan. Which means outspoken, irreverent Izzy is literally a princess. In a whirlwind, Izzy travels to Japan to meet the father she never knew and discover the country she always dreamed of. But being a princess isn’t all ball gowns and tiaras. There are conniving cousins, a hungry press, a scowling but handsome bodyguard who just might be her soulmate, and thousands of years of tradition and customs to learn practically overnight. Izzy soon finds herself caught between worlds, and between versions of herself—back home, she was never “American” enough, and in Japan, she must prove she’s “Japanese” enough. Will Izumi crumble under the weight of the crown, or will she live out her fairytale, happily ever after? (goodreads.com) I want to preface this by saying that I’ve never been to Japan, nor have I studied much about Japan or the Japanese Imperial Family, so I’ll withhold comments about whether this is realistic or not. I mean, the whole idea of being a secret princess is pretty unrealistic, but my goodness it is fun to read about. I have heard others say that the cultural aspects are not entirely realistic (though the author does say she fact checked a few things with her Japanese friends), but since I don’t have any base knowledge I’m not going to be passing judgement on that aspect of the book. Moving on. Basically, the premise of this book is pretty much the same as The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, but not told in diary format and an Asian princess instead of a European one. Still in first person, but not written as a diary. I’ve never read The Princess Diaries (though now I sort of want to), but I did watch both movies (they are masterpieces and you can’t convince me otherwise, I mean, Stan Lee makes a cameo in the second one so how can you not love it, also Julie Andrews, Anne Hathaway, Chris Pine… need I say more?). I’ve always loved the idea of finding out that you are royalty. Even though I went through a tomboy-not-like-other-girls-phase from preschool through most of highschool and claimed that I was uninterested in “girly” things, I have always loved, loved, loved a good princess story. I mean, being royalty sounds very cool despite the fact that I would probably run a country into the ground. Yeah, I’m not so good at politics. So if I were a princess, it would hopefully be of a figurehead monarchy. Since I adore princess stories, it was not difficult for me to fall in love with this one. Izumi, while a little annoying, was a fun character and I liked her and her friend group’s shenanigans. Also, there was a romance, which was very cheesy and totally insta-lovey, but still cute. And, of course, there was royal intrigue, fancy dresses, conniving cousins, etiquette lessons, tabloids, and all of the fun that comes with a book like this. This is exactly the light summer read that I needed and I am thrilled to hear that there will be a sequel sometime next year. Not so thrilled that I have to wait a whole year because I need to know what happens next. It wasn’t a cliffhanger ending, but it did feel somewhat abrupt and I want more as soon as possible. Thanks for reading this review! TTFN, I need to dust off my tiara. Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54860605-tokyo-ever-after Personal Rating: 4 Stars Goodreads Rating: 4.10 Stars Content Rating: Strong PG-13 (for language, violence, smoking/drinking, and suggestive remarks) Trigger Warnings: Drug overdose, parent death, rape is alluded to, brief use of racist language. With her mama recently dead and her pa sight unseen since birth, fourteen-year-old Amelia is suddenly in charge of her younger brother and sister, and of the family gas station. Harley Blevins, local king and emperor of Standard Oil, is in hot pursuit to clinch his fuel monopoly. To keep him at bay and her family out of foster care, Melia must come up with a father, and fast. And so when a hobo rolls out of a passing truck, Melia grabs opportunity by its beard. Can she hold off the hounds till she comes of age? (goodreads.com) This book was fantastic. I won’t beat around the bush with “I found this book here” or “this book interested me because”—it doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that this is an amazing, heartbreaking, uplifting, giggle and tear inducing book with incredibly likeable (and one detestable) characters. That’s it. That’s all you need to know. Okay, maybe you need to know more than that. You’re probably wondering why, if this book is so wonderful, I only gave it four stars and not five. Or you might be wondering what exactly about this book was so good. You may even require some convincing that a book about a gas station could even be interesting. And, because you have so little faith in me, I will give you an actual review instead of just gushing about how much I liked this book. You’re welcome. First things first: why did I only give it four stars? There are a couple of reasons. The first being that there was unnecessary use of racial slurs. It was hardly there, and only popped up once or twice. And sure, it was probably accurate to something a person of that time would say, but it had nothing to do with the plot, the instance that I remember most clearly was really just in a throwaway line that didn’t add anything. It’s one thing if a slur or harmful language is important to the story, but it doesn’t sit well with me when that sort of thing is thrown around without cause. So that’s one of the reasons for losing a star. The other reason is just because I personally was not comfortable reading about some of the subjects I mentioned in the TW section above. Also, there was a heckin’ lot of foul language and you know how we feel about that round here in these parts. Apart from those things, I really did love this book. I’m a sucker for “found family” stories and this one played that trope out to perfection. It also had a unique setting in a gas station during the Great Depression in Virginia, which turned out to be a really interesting and fresh setting for a book. I loved the different ways the family in this book improved their gas station and the lengths they went to protect it from the disgustingly evil Harley Blevins (I really would have liked to punch this guy in the face… with a baseball bat… or a brick… a couple of dozen times). Reading about the different promotions they’d run to make a little extra cash, or the things they’d do to make the station nicer, or the meals they’d cook, was just my cup of tea. And the characters! Apart from Harley Blevins (aka the Scum of the Earth), the characters were so likeable it was ridiculous. The story is told from Melia’s (the MC) point of view and it is written the way she would speak, regional slang and all. She was such a strong and interesting character with actual development that didn’t feel rushed. I don’t think I have ever liked a first person narrator more. Her siblings, Earle and Janey were adorable and also had their own lives apart from being adorable children. They had their own wants and thoughts and motivations. Oftentimes, kid characters in YA and adult novels are so flat and boring and just there to be cute. But Earle and Janey were so much more than that and drove the plot in their own way. Then, of course, there was Hiriam, who you aren’t really sure what to make of when you first meet him, but I promise he grows on you. I could probably go over each and every character from this book and tell you about them, but I won’t do that because I don’t have the energy to type that long of a review. Suffice to say, that even the town snobs of the story eventually started to warm up. Pretty much everyone except Harley Blevins (the Poopiest Poop of this book and possibly all time) was likeable or interesting. I do want to throw out that Christians in this book are not portrayed in a good light, though it can be a realistic light unfortunately. They treat Melia and her family poorly because they don’t go to church and are just very judgmental and hypocritical in general. While the Christians in the town in this story eventually get better, it really irks me that Harley Freaking Blevins used God and religion as an excuse to do the things he does. He also sees his faith as a business transaction with God, which is not accurate. He sort of reminds me of Frollo from Hunchback of Notre Dame (the Disney movie, I’ve never read the book) using his position of power and the name of God to judge others and bend them to his will. Which is not what God is for. God isn’t a god of bargains, He is a god of unconditional love. Lucky Strikes was truly a compelling historical fiction and I may read it again at some point down the line. I absolutely recommend it to anyone who is interested in Depression-era fiction, gas stations of yesteryear, or just stories about finding family and yourself. Thank you for reading, I’m off to fill up my gas tank… no literally, it is getting low. Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23546616-lucky-strikes Personal Rating: 3.5 Stars Goodreads Rating: 3.64 Stars Content Rating: Light R (for violence) Trigger warnings: Mentions of suicide. In the kingdom of Lovero, nine rival Families of assassins lawfully kill people for a price. As a highly skilled member of one of these powerful clans, seventeen-year-old Lea Saldana has always trusted in the strength of her Family. Until she awakens to find them murdered and her home in flames. The Da Vias, the Saldanas’ biggest enemy, must be responsible—and Lea should have seen it coming. But her secret relationship with the Da Vias’ son, Val, has clouded her otherwise killer instinct—and given the Da Vias more reason than ever to take her Family down. Racked with guilt and shattered over Val’s probable betrayal, Lea sets out to even the score, with her heart set on retaliation and only one thought clear in her mind: make the Da Vias pay. (goodreads.com) This is a book that I picked up without knowing anything about it beforehand, which is something I used to do a lot (before I became a boring old grown up) and have been trying to do more of lately. Thankfully, this book was just the thing I needed to get me out of the reading slump I’ve been in (I blame social media, because, again… boring old grown up over here). There were good things and bad about this book, interesting and boring, but it kept my interest like no other book has for the past while. In the time between reading this book and The Book of Pearl, I picked up and then DNF’d about four books, which is never a good feeling, so I was glad Assassin’s Heart grabbed my attention and refused to let go. Even if the romance was a little forced and annoying. This story is told in first person perspective, which is never my favorite, but was fairly neutral here. I didn’t feel as though it enhanced the story or took much away from it, it was simply a tool that was used. But, if I’m being completely honest, when books have a lot of action like this one does, I typically prefer third person perspective just because it can get annoying to have all of the “I stabbed with my sword” or “I did a super awesome flip” or “I punched that dude so hard his teeth fell out” and the “I did this, I did that, I’m so amazing”, etc. I thought the world building for this book was interesting. It took me a while to figure out what time period had inspired this fictional world, but eventually—because of the fashion and the weaponry—I decided that it is probably inspired by 1400s Italy. This might be partially because the author and the marketing would try to make you believe that this is a Romeo and Juliet story. Or at least a story of forbidden love. And as cool as it would be to have Romeo and Juliet as assassins, that’s no what this book is about really. It is mainly focused on the revenge storyline as well as the theology of the made up gods and ghosts of the world it takes place in. I’m a little disappointed that this was not more about a shady underworld of assassins and criminals, but I was still invested in the revenge aspect of things. Much less so in the pantheon of wacky deities (the main goddess encourages murder and another god has a priest who who wears a top hat and carries a big glowstick) the characters worship, but you get what you get. The main character, Oleander “Lea” Saldana, was pretty cool. She had lots of weapons, poisons, and a hecking lot of angst (though her angst was totally valid, all things considered). I do think I would have found her more likeable if the book hadn’t been in first person POV, but that’s the case with many books I read. It is just hard for me to get attached to first person perspective characters sometimes. I liked the other main character, Alessio, well enough, but I really wish they hadn’t shortened his name to “Les” because it looks awfully similar to “Lea” and that made things kinda confusing for my poor eyes and brain. The plot didn’t go at all in the direction I was expecting, and while sometimes that was disappointing, for the most part I still enjoyed the path it took and I was left satisfied by the ending. There is a sequel/companion novel about a different character, which I am somewhat interested in, but sometimes it’s nice to just read one book and be done with the world it is set in. So, I’m not sure if I will pick up the second one or not, but if I do then I will let you know. Thanks for reading! I’m off to go polish my bone mask. Until next time! Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21421609-assassin-s-heart Personal Rating: 5 Stars Goodreads Rating: 4.02 Content Rating: PG-13 Trigger Warnings: Depictions of war (WWII) and some violence. Joshua Pearl comes from a world that we no longer believe in — a world of fairy tale. He knows that his great love waits for him there, but he is stuck in an unfamiliar time and place — an old-world marshmallow shop in Paris on the eve of World War II. As his memories begin to fade, Joshua seeks out strange objects: tiny fragments of tales that have already been told, trinkets that might possibly help him prove his own story before his love is lost forever. (goodreads.com) This, like Raybearer, was a book for the book club I do with some of my coworkers. We are reading a book from a different country every month and for May we did France. This book was originally written in French and I was a little apprehensive to read it at first as some reviews said that they thought it didn’t make as much sense in English. However, though it was a bit confusing at first due to the alternating points of view and scrambled timeline, it didn’t take long for me to sort things out and get wrapped up in the story. I actually liked this story so much when I finished it that I shelved it next to Inkheart and The Thief Lord (if you know me then you know how high of an honor that is). The Book of Pearl is a wonderful mixture of fairy tale, historical fiction, and contemporary fantasy. There are three different stories going on in this book. The story of a fairy tale inspired land, the story of a young man in World War II, and the story of a different young man with a camera (in more modern times). It takes a little while to sort out who is who, especially if you go into the book fairly blind as I did, but I’d say by the end of Part One everything is pretty clear. If you are looking for a book that delves deep into the characters emotions, this is not that. It is told more like a fairytale than a novel, but I still feel like you get to know all of the important players in it, just not necessarily through their thoughts on the events. Because of the unique way that it is told, I feel that it would make for an excellent movie. For real. If anyone reading this is in the movie industry (ha) and the author agrees, can we, uh, can we get on that, please? I don’t know if it would make a lot of money or not, but I just want it. But not Disney. They’d ruin it (like they did with a certain other book-to-movie adaptation). Thanks. Good talk. If you are someone who likes beautiful writing, fairies, fiction set during World War II, a freaking marshmallow shop, or adventure, then I recommend you give this book a shot. I may or may not have stayed up until 1:30am to finish it because I was so enchanted by it. And I may have hugged it when I was done with it. You know, just normal stuff. Well, I’m off to eat a bag full of marshmallows and pretend they are as fancy as the ones in this book. Thanks for reading! I’ll see you next time! Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34877733-the-book-of-pearl Personal Rating: 3.5 stars Goodreads Rating: 3.6 stars Content Rating: Strong PG-13 (for violence and a bit of language) Trigger Warnings: There is a little bit of self-harm. For a hundred years, the once-prosperous kingdom of Perin Faye has suffered under the rule of the greedy and power-hungry Thungrave kings. Maralyth Graylaern, a vintner's daughter, has no idea her hidden magical power is proof of a secret bloodline and claim to the throne. Alac Thungrave, the king’s second son, has always been uncomfortable with his position as the spare heir—and the dark, stolen magic that comes with ruling. When Maralyth becomes embroiled in a plot to murder the royal family and seize the throne, a cat-and-mouse chase ensues in an adventure of dark magic, court intrigue, and forbidden love. (goodreads.com) These days, it is rare that I pick up a book on a whim. When I was a kid I would take home a huge stack of books from the library or bookstore and then devour them within the week. However, in recent years, what with working two jobs and trying to keep up with friends and family in the midst of a global pandemic as well as read all of the books on my TBR, write stories and blog posts, and watch the TV shows or movies that have been recommended to me… I don’t really find myself adding random books from the library shelves to my list of priorities. Not to say that I don’t read anymore, I obviously do, but I find that most of the books I read I have done research on, read other reviews for, or at least had a friend tell me about. This book was a rare flashback to my past. I saw it at work, I thought the cover was pretty, I briefly read over the summary, and I decided I wanted to read it. And I actually read it. Shocking, I know. This book is told through alternating perspectives, which can be hit or miss. Usually, what I find happening with books like this is that I enjoy one character’s perspective more than the others and only want to read what is going on with that character. With this book, however, there were only two perspectives to switch between and they both kept me entertained and on the edge of my seat, so I didn’t feel like I needed to rush through one perspective or the other. Both main characters were fun to keep up with and I did enjoy the romance that begins to bloom between them (though I wish there had been a little bit more development to that romance). Alac—though his name sounds like a Shakespearean exclamation of distress—was a nice change from the typical male protagonists we get in this kind of book. For one thing, he was blond, which is nearly unheard of for a dark, somewhat brooding prince. For another, he was obsessed with wine making, which was awfully convenient considering Maralyth was born and raised in a vineyard. It was also refreshing that he was not at all interested in becoming king… at least at the start. He kind of did one-eighty at one point, at which point he really wanted to be king, but we won’t get into that. He seemed like a nice dude with good intentions and sometimes that’s the kind of guy I like to see in books, instead of the sinister types with a fleck of decency in them. Maralyth was a little boring, I’m not going to lie, but I still enjoyed her chapters. She had magical plant/life powers that she used differently than I might have, but it was still fun. I do wish there had been some sort of rule set for how her magic worked because at first I thought it was just plant-based, but then she also made people and animals fall asleep so I think it must just be life-form based. I would have liked a little clarification though. As much as I liked that this is not part of a series, I do wish that it had been a little longer. I wanted more of the epilogue type stuff, with smiles and happily ever afters. I typically want that from books though. I like to see characters happy because, I don’t know, sentiment or something. But, it was nice to have everything wrapped up in one book rather than an extensive series (not that I don’t love a good series, it’s just hard to keep track of them all). I feel like this book was very similar to The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller, but with less steamy-ness and a less annoying, less stabby female protagonist. So, if you are interested in magic, political drama, coups, and a dash of romance, then this may be the book for you! Thanks for reading! Until next time! Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53205978-the-stolen-kingdom?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=qU4kd8LMao&rank=1 |
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