Procrastinating with Books

[procrastinatingwithbooks]

Gamescape: Overworld by Emma Trevayne

Thank you San Diego Comic Con and HarperCollins for the ARC

Stars: 4/5

This book... was a weird one. For starters, it had a very unique feel to it and the storytelling sometimes felt like it was in second person, and then when one started to believe it was, indeed, in second person, it’d revert back to third person as if the second person bit was all part of one’s imagination. It also quite reminded me of The Maze Runner, for some reason.

Now, being a game and a huge fan of Dystopias, I loved the concept of a world where most people spend a lot of time playing a virtual reality game. After all, sometimes I think that’s where our world is heading anyways. The part that gets interesting, though, is how the reason why this society is spending so much time playing this VR game is because the world outside is not safe anymore and it’s being destroyed bit by bit and by playing this game, people earn rewards in the form of robotic parts that will help them to survive longer. Yes, that’s right, the way to save oneself in this world is by becoming a cyborg.

For the main character, Miguel, however, is about more than becoming a cyborg; it’s about survival. He has a failing heart and he needs a mechanic one to live that’s why when a competition to beta-test a new release of the game comes around, promising great rewards, Miguel is all for jumping aboard, despite his heart limitations.

The universe was amazingly built and the levels, and puzzles, and bosses, as well as items Miguel and his team had to find in each level were all brilliantly thought. If not a gamer herself, Trevayne did a wonderful job at researching video games and the way they work. I was completely enthralled with Chimera.

The part that sort of lost me, though, was the ending. I’m not going to say much because I don’t to spoil said ending, but I felt like it didn’t live up to my expectations. It went in an entirely different direction than I was expecting and it was kind of a let down.

Because of how much I enjoyed the rest of the book, however, I still think it deserves four stars, although I have yet to decide if I’m going to read the second book of the series, seeing that I’m afraid it’ll ruin the unique experience of the first one.

[procrastinatingwithbooks]

The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee

Thank you San Diego Comic Con and HarperCollins for the ARC

Stars: 5/5

I cannot begin to describe how much I loved this book.

The idea of having an entire city stacked vertically in the shape of a tower in the middle of Manhattan was kind of brilliant, and it astounds me to no end that McGee thought of that. Not only was the idea brilliant, but being able to follow the life of several residents of this tower was amazing. I loved how they were all so different, and from so many different backgrounds, and yet their lives intertwined so perfectly and seamless.

I really liked that this book started slow, just following the life of these different people, and then bit by bit, I started to see how their lives begin to cross, until finally it reached this crescendo of impending doom that I saw coming from a mile away (or two and a half miles away), yet it was delivered effortlessly and let me feeling shocked. And now I think I’m mumbling because that’s how good it all was!

Not only the story as a whole, was fantastic, but I loved reading the separate stories of each of the characters. They all seemed so real and anguished in their own ways that I was sucked entirely sucked in almost from the start.

At first, Avery felt way too perfect and it was hard to relate to her, so I didn’t like her very much, but as her story unraveled, and the whole thing with Atlas was revealed, I found myself cheering for her. I seriously don’t know how books keep making me cheer for incest (I’m looking at you, Cassandra Clare), but here I am.

Leda, on the other hand, I didn’t like since always. I felt bad for her at first, but then she just kept me making me dislike her, more and more with every decision she made. And I disliked her until the very end.

Rylin was probably my favorite character. I’m not sure if I liked her from the get go but she grew on me pretty fast. I loved her conflicts and I found myself grinning like an idiot in certain scenes. I think it helped her case that I also have a soft spot for Cord, not that I can figure out why.

Eris was another fantastic character. I think she was the one with the most character development throughout the book, and I loved her and Mariel. I felt for Eris, and her family situation, but by the end of the book, I was so proud of her. I really cannot wait to see Mariel wreak havoc on book 2.

Lastly, Watt. I really liked his “relationship” with Nadia. Nadia was so badass, and I truly wish I had a Nadia stuck above my ear. I’d call it Jeeves and we’d be best friends. Minus the whole illegal hacking, but hey, the internet is an open book. Watt had his up and down moments in my book, but at the end of it all, I liked him.

I loved this book and I CANNOT wait for book 2. I’m dying inside just thinking about the wait. So, I think EVERYONE should go read this book, and suffer with me while we wait for the next book.

[procrastinatingwithbooks]

Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

Thank you San Diego Comic Con and HarperCollins for the ARC

Stars: 3/5

So I guess I didn’t pay a lot of attention when reading the synopsis cause I didn’t realize the main “couple” was two girls when I first started it. But that was fine, although I gotta admit I missed having a hunky guy. Anyways, Of Fire and Stars tells the story of Denna, a princess who was promised to marry the prince of Mynaria, and Mare, the sister of said prince. Denna is book smart yet extremely naive, while Mare is... well, wild as a mare. And because opposite’s attract, Denna and Mare formed a connection, despite all odds and among all the havoc happening in the kingdom.

I felt like this book dragged a little, and although it was very well written, it was very slow throughout the whole thing until the last six chapters. I felt that Denna was annoying for the most part of the book, and I could not phantom how Mare fell in love with her.

Mare, on the other hand, was pretty awesome and I enjoyed her chapters way more than I enjoyed Denna’s. But, Denna grew on me in the last a hundred pages or so.

Overall, it was a good book, but it wasn’t great. The premise was good, but I sort of expected more from it.

[procrastinatingwithbooks]

Nerve by Jeanne Ryan

Stars: 4.5/5

Wow! Is one of the only things I can think at the moment. I just finished this book and wow, just wow.

First of all, I guess I should point out that this world that Jeanne Ryan created seems so real that it wouldn’t surprise me to wake up tomorrow with a game like NERVE being a reality. And that scares the living crap out of me, to be honest. Therefore, Nerve scared the living crap out of me. It felt very similar to The Purge in a way, and I truly truly wish this society never gets to the point where people do crazy stuff for prizes and people watch for entertainment... Oh wait.

Vee, as a character, was... I’m actually not sure what she was. I liked her, yes, but she felt like she lacked a backbone for a while there, and then after she started to grow one.. I don’t know. It just felt like Ryan only skimmed the surface of Vee, and as a reader, I never really got to what was beneath Vee’s surface. Part of it might be because of how fast everything happened, as most of the book consisted of a single night.

The same goes for Ian. Yes, he was charming and he started dating Vee, and as a reader I hoped they be together and things would work out, but I felt like I didn’t really get to know him that well. Everything I learn about Ian was in the surface, and looking back, that annoyed me a bit.

The level of thrill in this book, however, was out of the charts and it might be because it’s the middle of the night, but I was sitting on the edge of my seat for the greater part of the second half of the book. Although it felt like a lot of things weren’t explained and there was a lot of open ends (or more like possibilities), this book was freaking great just because of the whole suspense and fast pace of it. Also, I guess it helps that due to a game like NERVE being a real possibility in today’s world, Nerve felt like something very tangible to me, and like I’ve mentioned before, it scared the living crap out of me.

Great book! Can’t wait to see the movie, even though from what I can tell, it’s going to be quite different from the book.

[procrastinatingwithbooks]

Dreamology by Lucy Keating

Stars: 3/5

As it happens a lot to me, I am torn up about this particular book. It was a great idea, and I was dying to read it. It also reminded me of Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan, and since I really liked that series, I thought there was a good chance I’d really like this one. And I did like it, I just didn’t love it.

Yes, the dreams were a really big part of the book, but I felt that Alice should have had her feet a little more on the ground. One can be a dreamer, and have a dream boyfriend, and still have some notion of real life. I felt that was lacking and it annoyed me a bit. Max, on the other hand, was too hot and cold, and I just wanted him to freaking make up his mind already.

There were really nice parts throughout the novel that I really enjoyed (the scene before the ending scene being one of them). The secondary characters (Jerry included) were also fairly entertaining.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel, but there were a lot of things that I’d change about it. It was a good read, though.

[procrastinatingwithbooks]

Make it Count by Megan Erickson

Stars: 4/5

I may be a little harsh on this book, but it's not because I didn't like the story. It's more because of pet peeves due to the main character, Kat, being Brazilian. And because I'm Brazilian, and I know the culture well, there were somethings that didn't add up, and it made me cringe a little inside.

Okay now that that is out of my system, I can talk about how I really liked this story and the chemistry between Alec and Kat. They're a cute, although I must say, extremely stubborn couple; however, they're story kept me entertained and I can't wait to read Max's.

Also, I really liked the fact that dyslexia was one of the big points of the novel. Although I fiction for fun, I always enjoy learning more about the subjects mentioned in them. And it's a good thing to have dyslexia put out there; people usually judge others for their learning disabilities, and it shouldn't have to be that big of a deal (the disability that is, not the judging; the Judging is a big deal).

[procrastinatingwithbooks]

The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller

Stars: 4.5/5

This was very sweet little love story. Being a major geek, I immediately connected to Maddie... except for the whole double life thing. Although I wasn’t a major geek in high school, I wasn’t exactly hiding it; I was just learning my geekiness. It sucked that Maddie thought she had to hide her true self to be accepted, but as it worked out for her, I hope it works out for others.

Anyways, I’m getting off track. I love how much time Miller put into describing details of the nerd culture, especially LARPing, which I really should try it out in a near future. It was very entertaining!

Logan is a sweetheart, and I wish I had a Logan when I was a teenager. And Dan, well, he was the perfect annoying, yet extremely loyal nerd best friend, and I most definitely had a Dan when I was a teenager.

Overall, it was a quick read, and it was extremely cute.

[procrastinatingwithbooks]

Attraction by Penny Reid

Stars: 5/5

I love Kaitlyn Parker. She's smart, brilliant, funny, and awesome, just plain awesome. I covet her brains and her directness is just so freaking perfect.

Martin is kind of a douche, entitled, spoiled brat, and although I usually like Alpha males,  he's borderline caveman and I'm not sure I like him all that much. Perhaps my feelings will change in the future.

But it doesn't matter, and that's okay, because as long as Reid keeps giving me more Kaitlyn and her fantastic personality, I'll keep on reading. I almost died with laughter when she talked about the Frodo/Samwise debacle. And the whole boyfriend bat signal stuff was pretty awesome. As a big nerd myself, her references killed me in the best of ways.

Therefore, I'm not sure if I love love love this book, or I just love love love this character, but either way, I can't wait to read more.

[procrastinatingwithbooks]

Dearest Clementine by Lex Martin

Stars: 5/5

I love that this book is about a love story, but it's also about so much more than that. It's about a girl who has to faces her fears, and all ghosts, so that she can learn to live again. It's about a writer who has to struggle through bills to pay and writer's block like all of us writers do.

And because of all of that, I fell in love with Clementine. She's so strong, and talented, and by the end of the book, I was so proud of her. Being a writer, I was able to relate to her on a deeper level. The love story was sweet and Gavin is so dreamy that I'd like to order one of them if possible.

Finally, I love that Clementine's book is an indie book, and that so is this one. It warms my heart to see these books been given the kind of love that they deserve, and so I'd like to commend Lex Martin for her success in this endeavor. This was a great story!

[procrastinatingwithbooks]

Spinning Starlight by R.C. Lewis

Stars: 3.5/5

This book had a lot of potential.. It started great. The way it was set up, the world building, the story, Liddi’s lack of voice, and even the huge number of brothers was acceptable.

But, I don’t know, somewhere towards the end, it started to fall flat to me. I enjoyed it, but the ending lacked something in my mind. I’ve been reading so many science fiction books, as well as retellings that maybe I started to expect more and more from them, but this one simply didn’t make the cut.

I liked it, but it wasn’t amazing.

[procrastinatingwithbooks]

Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano

Stars: 3.5/5

I decided to read this book, even though the synopsis didn’t do much for me, because of how big a fan I am of the Chemical Garden series. I must say though, this was one weird novel.

Once again, DeStefano did a great job at creating this gorgeous world in the clouds. The rules and details to the world were flawless and I found myself enjoying this book. That said, I feel like things started awfully slow, and then they went way too fast, and that threw me off a bit.

I liked this book, but I didn’t love it and I’m still deciding if I’m going to bother with the second one.

[procrastinatingwithbooks]

Tell the Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan

Stars: 4/5

I actually liked this book, although it sort of broke my heart, but I’ll get to that. I admit, it was a very weird book at first. It took me some time to understand the world and the light and dark magic, as well as the light and dark sides of the city. Once I understood though, it was easy to keep up.

Lucie... at first, I didn’t like her very much, but she grew on me, and I understood her reasoning, although I thought she a somewhat a coward.

Ethan, on the other hand was just plain annoying the entire time. I know he looked meek and weak because the book was from Lucie’s POV and she protected him from things, but he bugged the crap out of me.

As for Carwyn, I hoped Lucie would pick him all book. Cause from the start, he was always so much cooler than Ethan. He was by far my favorite character in the book, but I may be biased cause I love the lost causes that may or may not be that lost after all.

And then we get to the end and how it all fell apart and my heart was broken. Yea, you know why. Tell the Wind and Fire is an interesting book, once one gets past the weirdness. I haven’t read A Tale of Two Cities, so I can’t compare, but now I might read it in the nearby future.

[procrastinatingwithbooks]

Flamecaster by Cinda Williams Chima

Stars: 5/5

I waited very long for this book. I wanted to read this book before I even knew it was happening. After I finished The Seven Realms series, I read somewhere Chima started writing it based on another story she wrote where the characters were older. Needless to say, I need Hanson back in my life, as he is #2 in my list of best male protagonists. Because of that, you may understand how so very upset I was when Chapter 2 happened. And that’s all I’ll say about that.

The Demon Royalty, however, had children, and so Flamecaster follows the story of Ash: middle child, only son, and so much like his father than you can’t help but love him. And then there’s Jenna: mine worker, patriot, and arsonist. And well, magic happened. Chima did it again and much like every single book in The Seven Realm series, I loved this one.

There wasn’t a lot of magic this time (except for the healing kind), and things started slow, but it had a good built up and that final main character that showed up in Chapter 35 was AWESOME! I’m just a little excited for his next appearance in the next book! So let’s hope that comes fast!

Overall, I really loved this book (except for Chapter 2, and I shall remain extremely mad about that).

[procrastinatingwithbooks]

Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone

Stars: 4.5/5

I must say, I’m pleasantly surprised with this book. It was really nice to read a love story with no villains... just, you know.. the trial of dating someone who is from 17 years in the future.

I really liked Anna, and Bennett and I loved their story. It had a nice pace, it was sweet, and it was entertaining. The only thing that I have to complain about is the whole use of Deus ex machina in the end there, but I accept that.

It’s a good love story!

[procrastinatingwithbooks]

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Stars: 4/5

This was a very interesting book; it was extremely weird. And I mean weird in the best way possible. I like weird. Basically, it’s the thoughts of a high school freshman throughout this entire year of his life, and he’s just, well, dealing with life like most of us do on a daily basis. And I guess that is why so many people like this book. Because it feels real. They are just normal struggles of a human being who is... not normal. But the thing is, none of us are normal.

Charlie is naive, smart, and oh so likable. He is also easy to relate is so many ways that at times, I just wanted to reach out and give him a hug, because life has so many ups and downs, and it just sucks having to go through that, but it’s also part of learning, and Charlie learned so much during that year.

This book didn’t really have a story with a beginning, middle, and end. It was more of a slice of life kind of deal, and I although it wasn’t my favorite books of all times, I enjoyed it thoroughly.

[procrastinatingwithbooks]

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Stars: 3.5/5

I don’t really know how I feel about this one. This has been a book that I’ve been dying to read since I found out about its existence back in June of last year. But now that I finally finished reading, I guess I expected to much of it. Don’t get me wrong, it was a good book, but it wasn’t as magical as I expected.

I like Etta and Nicholas and I think they make a great couple. I also really love the idea of time traveling, and the way that Bracken brought it to life was pretty good.

That said, the chapters were a bit too long for me, and it all seemed a bit too wordy, so it was hard to push through it. I will, however, read the end of the story once it comes out.

[procrastinatingwithbooks]

The Rule of Mirrors by Caragh M. O’Brien

Stars: 4/5

Like Vault of Dreamers, The Rule of Mirrors was very unique compared to other books I’ve read. I love how this Dystopian world is so normal in some ways, yet so different from this one and I also love how very much like what happened in the Birthmarked Series, the tone and the focus of the story changed completely from book 1 to book 2.

In this one, instead of focusing on a Big Brother like school where messed up things are happening, Caragh focuses on the same person being conscious in two different bodies, which is very very weird, yet it sort of works somehow. I also really enjoy the fact that, although technically the same, the two consciousnesses show different characteristics of Rosie - the actual Rosie Rosie seems so angry and afraid, while Thea Rosie sounds a lot more like the Rosie of book #1, so until the very end, I found myself liking Thea a lot more than Rosie.

I don’t know what to think about Linus and the things that are happening with him, but I very much would like to find out. I also would really like to find out what will happen to the Rosies and how they are gonna get out of that awkward love pentagram.

Overall, I enjoyed Rule of Mirrors, and I look forward to book #3!