sporadic reviews found here

This is a blog for book reviews, mostly young adult literature, but some other genres might also slip in here.

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Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles) book review

Title: Scarlet Author: Marissa Meyer Genre: Young adult fantasy, fairytale retelling Publisher: Feiwel & Friends Series: The second novel in The Lunar Chronicles series

Warning: spoilers for Cinder and Scarlet

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive. Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

This novel is the second book in The Lunar Chronicles series and follows directly after the events of Cinder. In this novel we meet the new main character, Scarlet, and a mysterious street fighter, Wolf. Just from the names you've probably figured out that this novel is a retelling of the fairytale Little Red Riding Hood, however as I was reading it I felt that there was also some elements taken from Beauty and the Beast considering that Wolf and Scarlet and initially hostile towards one another but ultimately end up caring for each other. 

I think this was a fantastic book, it was exciting, the new characters (Wolf, Scarlet, Thorne) are great and interesting, the plot reveals new facts that change everything and there is the introduction of a new enemy fighting for Levana. Scarlet is a headstrong and a stubborn girl, she loves her grandmother fiercely and will do anything to find out what happened to her. During her search she meets Wolf, a street fighter who has a mysterious tattoo on his arm made up of numbers and letters, which she later finds out is the mark or brand of those who tortured her father and kidnapped her grandmother. She ends up working together with Wolf, who claims he escaped from the same kidnappers and makes a living fighting. The dynamic between Wolf, a shy and extremely strong fighter, and Scarlet is a very interesting one. I've said before that I quite enjoy the enemies to friends trope and this to some extent applies to Wolf and Scarlet. At first they work together out of necessity, Scarlet needs someone to help her track down her grandmother and we don't really know what Wolf wants. They get a lead which leads them to Paris, which means travelling scenes, and I've mentioned before that I'm a big fan of these types of travelling and adventure type plots. Slowly but surely Wolf and Scarlet come to trust each other and I love this type of development, and this is one of the main things that reminded me of Beauty and the Beast. 

Thorne is a another loveable character, he's sarcastic, carefree and very laid back considering the position he is in. Him and Cinder strike up a friendship when Cinder is breaking out of prison, which ended up being a very good thing as they manage to fine Thorne's ship as well and that is how they escape and meet up with Scarlet and Wolf in Paris. 

In this novel, we are introduced to Queen Levana's army, and we also find out that Cinder is Princess Selene and that she can contest Levana. Levana's big army is an army of modified wolf-like men with extraordinary strength and abilities. Wolf used to be a part of this army, also known as a "Pack", and it's hard for him to disobey his higher ups and he struggles during the showdown. This army is particularly frightening, as it seems that the members of the Packs will do whatever they are ordered to, and their super strength and speed allow them to cause enormous damage. Now that this army has been let loose, Levana is even stronger and it seems that stopping her is going to be much more difficult than they first expected. 

Personally, I really love this book, it's fun, exciting and it moves the plot forward and left me very excited to find out what happens and how our band of friends is going to save Earth from Levana and the moon colony. I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars because it is my favourite in the series, which may come from the fact that I really like The Little Red Riding Hood. Also, Wolf and Scarlet have become my new favourite characters of the series, as I love them and their development through the novel. 

CAS: 2.5 hours

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Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles) book review

Title: Cinder Author: Marissa Meyer Genre: Young adult fantasy, fairytale retelling Publisher: Feiwel & Friends Series: The first novel in The Lunar Chronicles series

Warning: spoilers for Cinder and Scarlet

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

If you've read my book reviews, you may already know that I am a massive fan of fairytale retellings, I love those kinds of novels, so it will probably come as no surprise that I loved Cinder. Cinder is a novel that takes the fairytale Cinderella and recreates it using fantasy and science fiction elements. First off, Cinder is a cyborg. She has had her leg and arm replaced with machine or robot parts after an accident. However, people don't regard cyborgs very highly where Cinder lives, so she usually keeps her robotic parts hidden from the public eye. Cinder is a great mechanic and this is how she makes some money, and also how she meets Prince Kai. When Cinder's stepsister contracts the same disease that killed her father and that is killing the population, she is launched into a world of secret and betrayal. Queen Levana, the ruler of the Luna, the moon colony, has come to earth and wants to arrange a marriage between her and Prince Kai. Now this is an issue because Cinder finds out that Queen Levana is responsible for the plague that has been killing New Beijing's people, and that Queen Levana plans to have Prince Kai conveniently killed after their marriage. Thus, Queen Levana will be the ruler of one of the largest regions on earth. 

This novel is a compelling, and at times extremely adorable, read. The different genres go together perfectly, and even though Cinder is a fairytale retelling the story and plot are refreshing and exciting, so even though we all most likely know how the story goes there are unexpected twists and turns. To be honest, the only expected parts of the novel is the romance between Cinder and Kai, and the part where Cinder runs from the ball and loses her shoe, only here it's not her shoe but her cyborg leg that she loses. I think that was one of my favourite scenes, because that is when Kai finds out about Cinder being a cyborg, but so do so many others and it's such a heart wrenching scene. Also, Cinder's family goes by the original fairytale, but other than that the story is very much different. For example, Cinder's stepsister Peony contracts a disease or plague that has been killing the citizens of New Beijing and there is still no cure. Cinder ties her hardest to save Peony because Peony is Cinder's friend and the only one in the family who treats Cinder like a human being. It is later revealed that this plague has come from Queen Levana and her attempt to conquer Earth for the Luna people. Queen Levana is described as extraordinary beautiful, and we later learn that she has the ability to glamour herself, which means that she can alter the way other people perceive her appearance. However, Cinder can sometimes see pas this, and she isn't as easily manipulated as others, which we later find out is due to the fact that she is herself Luna. This adds so many interesting levels to the novel, as if Queen Levana figures this out, then Cinder will be in danger because she has been sent from the moon and to earth. The addition of the moon colony creates a huge conflict, because Cinder and Kai need to save themselves and the people of New Beijing from being taken over by Levana. 

Cinder is a loveable character, she's sarcastic and snarky which are typically traits that make me like a character. She is also the underdog, and as a reader we usually root for the underdog. Cinder is a great mechanic and she is very kind to her few friends, Peony and her android companion Iko. In addition, there are times when we get to see Cinder show that she is selfless, for example when she gives the only cure of the plague she has to the child of a woman who was rude to Cinder because she is a cyborg. However, she isn't perfect and that is what makes her a great character. She has flaws and she develops throughout the novel and continues to do so throughout the series so far. Her android companion Iko is also an adorable character, she is an android who sometimes forgets she isn't a human due to her faulty personality chip. I was so sad and furious when Iko is forcibly dismantled and I was so upset as I though she was gone. Luckily however, Cinder finds her personality chip and is able to reinstall her in a ship she finds, but this doesn't happen until the next book. The romance between Kai and Cinder was also very good, it had enough cute, slightly embarrassing, and angsty moments. In addition, I quite liked this romance because it is not the main part of the novel, but more a sub-plot as Cinder tries to figure out what is going on with Levana and the plague. 

I give this novel 4.5 out of 5 stars because I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I flew through it. There were never any boring or slow moments, it was action packed and exciting from the beginning. 

CAS: 2.5 hours

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Northern Lights (His Dark Materials) book review

Title: Northern Lights (or The Golden Compass in North America) Author: Philip Pullman Genre: Childrens fantasy Publisher: Scholtastic Series: First book in the His Dark Materials triology

Here lives an orphaned ward named Lyra Belacqua, whose carefree life among the scholars at Oxford's Jordan College is shattered by the arrival of two powerful visitors. First, her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, appears with evidence of mystery and danger in the far North, including photographs of a mysterious celestial phenomenon called Dust and the dim outline of a city suspended in the Aurora Borealis that he suspects is part of an alternate universe. He leaves Lyra in the care of Mrs. Coulter, an enigmatic scholar and explorer who offers to give Lyra the attention her uncle has long refused her. In this multilayered narrative, however,nothing is as it seems. Lyra sets out for the top of the world in search of her kidnapped playmate, Roger, bearing a rare truth-telling instrument, the compass of the title. All around her children are disappearing—victims of so-called "Gobblers"—and being used as subjects in terrible experiments that separate humans from their daemons, creatures that reflect each person's inner being. And somehow, both Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter are involved.

Synopsis taken from Goodreads.com

Initially I had never intended to read this series after watching the film when I was younger and thinking it was a boring film. However, later I read a synopsis and this novel actually sounds like something right up my alley. The concept of having dæmons and the world building alone sounded amazing when I read further into the series that I decided to buy the boxset and give it a read. I was not disappointed with this book. The world building and introduction to the world of dæmons is, in my opinion, on of the most entertaining parts of the novel. I would have been content with just a novel about how "normal" lives are with the addition dæmons, but the plot is very exciting as well. 

Lyra is a headstrong character who always manages to get herself into the midst of things and into trouble. After her playmate has been kidnapped along with many other children, Lyra is determined to find out what happened and save him. Lyra is left in the care of Mrs. Coulter, but it quickly becomes apparent to the reader that she is sketchy at best. Lyra goes off in search of her kidnapped friend and through her journey we meet more fun and interesting characters. The Gyptians, the panserbjørne (or armoured bears) and the mystery about the witches and Lyra's fate are all elements that add to the plot and are all very intriguing parts of the novel that I wanted to learn more about. Personally I think the trio that Iorek Byrnison, Lee Scoresby and Lyra make is a very fun match up. This was another part that I quite enjoyed, the fact that Lyra was in a sense recruiting more and more people to her quest of bringing the golden compass to Lord Asriel, and these new characters added a new dimension and introduced new races and lore to the story. Iorek is an example of this, as his character introduces us to arguably the race or group that is the most high fantasy in this novel, talking, armoured polar bears. In addition, Lyra learns that these polar bears are keeping Lord Asriel captive and towards the end of the novel she is also taken captive by these panserbjørne, which is a very interesting part of the novel as it shows Lyra's ability to lie.

Lyra's relationship with her dæmon is very dynamic, and it reflects on most people's relationship to their own dæmons. In this world, everyone has their own dæmons, and these are essentially their souls as a sentient being. Basically, a human and it's dæmon are the same person but in two separate bodies. This was such an interesting dynamic, and after reading I wish we had dæmon's too, they sound so fun to have! On the other hand, the dæmons do present a slight danger now that people, known as the General Oblation Board, are trying to sever the connection between dæmon and human in prepubescent children. The reason for this is that at a young age before puberty, dæmons have not fully settled and are able to change their animal form. When Lyra is out on her quest to find her friend Roger, she comes across a boy who has been severed from his dæmon, which is unheard of and a horrible thing to do, as both become husks of their former selves. Lyra is captured by the General Oblation Board who take her to Bolvanger, the place where this is happening. Lyra is caught spying and the staff decide to take care of her by severing Lyra from her own dæmon. Before this can happen however, Mrs. Coulter stops the procedure as she does not want it to happen to her own daughter, which just shows how horrible of a procedure this is. Also, the fact that it is a secret organization run by the Church makes it even worse. This was such a heart breaking thing to read about, as one could see that the children who had already had the procedure where psychologically damaged and hardly able to survive, and as I was reading I was so excited for Lyra to shut Bolvanger down and help the children escape. 

All in all, this was a very exciting novel, there was hardly ever any moments where I felt bored and this book was miles better than what I remember the movie was. Hopefully I will get to the other books soon and finish this series. I give this novel 4 out of 5 stars. As said, it was a good, action packed book with lots of adventure and interesting characters. 

CAS: 2.5 hours

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The Darkest Minds book review

Title: The Darkest Minds Author: Alexandra Bracken Genre: Young adult fantasy Publisher: Disney Hyperion Series: First book of The Darkest Minds trilogy

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control. Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

The Darkest Minds is a very interesting first novel in a series. One of the things I found most enjoyable was the world building and the explanation of how society got to this point. In dystopia novels this is obviously one of the most important things to establish early on and then elaborate further during the novel, and I feel Bracken managed this. The concept is simple and maybe one that has been done before, but the story has it's own twists and mysteries that were very interesting to explore. I think one of the things I was most intrigued by was Ruby's story of how she got captured and taken to camp Thurmond, and it was one of the things that kept me reading. Also, reading about the events leading up to the formation of these camps, with the disease that killed most of America's children made for very exciting back story. I really liked the idea that parents were both relieved but also slightly terrified if their child survived past their tenth birthday, since that meant they would have these powers. Also, Ruby's story was so devastating, after you figure out what her powers are you have an inkling about what happened, but when you actually read the story about what happened and how her parents reacted, it's heartbreaking. 

Further, a second part of the novel that was particularly fun to read was the classification of the kids and what powers the different colours had. Also, how the different colours were treated considering their power, for example that the reds and oranges were feared until they were killed by the military forces. In addition, hearing about how many of the more powerful kids tried to stand up and fight, but the less powerful and younger ones were reluctant to follow up considering their fear and the weapons that were used against them. 

I may have mentioned before how much I love travelling scenes and road trip type segments in novels, and this novel basically had 200 pages of travelling after Ruby runs off from Cate and the others and bumps into the trio who ultimately become her best friends, Zu, Chubs, and Lee. For me, this group had a very fun dynamic and their friendship had so many levels look at and there was a development in the relationships that made sense (except for the sorta romance arc). For example, Chubs initial hostility towards Ruby as the newcomer and liability is so understandable, especially when we learn how he, Liam and Zu escaped from their camp, what they went through and how many they lost. However, slowly but surely Ruby and Chubs become friends through their loyalty to Lee and their love for both Zu and Lee, and their friendship is one of my favourite friendships. Zu and Ruby also have a wonderful relationship, and one of my favourite scenes in the book is when Zu and Ruby are in the store trying on clothes and doing each others hair and make up. It was such an adorable bonding scene between them and it made me smile, it's one of those cute scenes that make you forget all the hardships the main characters are going through and just give a taste of how it would be if they lived in a "normal" world. I must say, even though the romance was not one of the worst I've read, it wasn't amazing. It seemed slightly rushed to me, and in my opinion it didn't progress in a natural way, it seemed a bit too instant love for my taste, even though it wasn't entirely like that. Lee is just a nice, laid back, funny guy, so it does to some extent make sense that he would be so open and kind towards Ruby, but I feel the only thing holding Ruby back was her powers to erase and go through memories, as opposed to the fact that they barely knew one another. On the other hand, the romance wasn't forced in any way, so it did not bother me as much as it could have. 

A lot happens in this novel, and one of the most significant moments is when they find who they have been looking for all this time, the slip kid, or Clancy. I was suspicious of Clancy from the first moment, much like Chubs, he seemed too good to be true, and his kindness was not effortless like Lee's is, but it seemed more fake. Whenever Ruby felt safe with him, or worse, when she felt attracted to him, I just wanted to shake her and yell in her face that he is a powerful orange that can manipulate people! I was so frustrated with Ruby whenever she would find herself drawn to Clancy, because something about him just made me shiver. I felt so sorry for her as well, considering this was her first real interaction with another orange and she yearns to control the part of herself that wiped the memories of her parents and Sam. Her need to learn and connect with someone like herself blinds her until it's almost too late.

I must admit, the ending was slightly unexpected, but I was not opposed to what happened. The fact that Chubs got shot was devastating and I will be extremely pissed off if he does not pull through and feature in the last two books, because I love Chubs as a character and I love his relationship with Ruby. However, when Ruby wiped herself from Liam's memory on purpose, I have to say that I didn't actually mind. Of course I was sad, but I hope that this is permanent and that we don't see Liam in the next two novels, because I feel his character has run it's course and we don't really need him other than to know he is okay and alive. I don't agree with what Ruby did and how she made him leave the danger, but I think it is better this way. 

Ultimately I give this novel 4 out of 5 stars, however I'm leaning more towards 3.5 than 4. I think it was a fun read, but it wasn't anything extrodinary. I'm giving it a 4 star rating however, because I believe the first 350 pages deserve that rating, as I really enjoyed reading the first half. 

CAS: 2.5 hours

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X-stitch projects

I know it's not what I usually post, but as I just finished both of these I though I might as well show them on this blog. These are two cross stitch projects I finished recently, the one on left is the Stark sigil with the motto and the one on the right is from Dragon Age 2.  

If you want to see them larger here is a link.

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Crown of Midnight review

Title: Crown of Midnight Author: Sarah J. Maas Genre: High Fantasy, Adventure, Young Adult Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children’s  Series: Second book out of six

Warning for spoilers of the first book from here on! Synopsis taken from Goodreads

From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil. Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart. Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie...and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for. 

I started writing this review an hour after finishing this novel, and I can say that reading it was like a roller-coaster ride. There were so many ups and downs and twists and turns and I have been feeling so many different emotions whilst reading this, frankly I'm almost confused. If you recall from review of the first novel, I loved it and said it was a great read. Well, if it's possible, I enjoyed this one more (and hated it more!) than the first one, possibly because this one does not require as much world building and we can go straight to where we left off. 

So much happened through this novel it's almost hard to remember where it started, but the action that did happened made me so excited, but then turned around and ripped me to pieces within seconds. As I mentioned in the first review, one of my favourite aspects of the first novel was the dynamic between Chaol and Celaena, and I loved the road their relationship was going down. For me, and all those who also love to see Chaol and Celaena together, this book was like sent from heaven, the first half at least. All the tension and longing glances to each other when they think the other isn't looking, I live for this stuff. Also, hearing Chaol talk to himself and try to rationalize his feelings for her and denying whilst having an overwhelming desire to protect her, and the same with Celaena, it is my favourite way for relationships to pan out. So, you can imagine how happy I was to see how considerate and desperate to please Celaena was when she planned Chaol's birthday dinner. And then when the kissed, I was so excited for them and their new relationship now that they finally stopped being so emotionally constipated and acknowledged their love for one another. In addition, the scene where Chaol is kidnapped and Calaena is desperate to find him and make sure he is safe was both heartbreaking and touching at the same time. Thus, imagine my horror when Celaena rushes back to the castle only to find Nehemia dead, and then she attempts to kill Chaol and shouts all these mean things to him! And at the end of the book when he says "I love you" to Celaena, my heart nearly burst, it was so sad and adorable at the same time. 

Also, Nehemia's death was one of the most agonizing, gut-wrenching scenes in the whole novel, and not only because of the imagery of her murder. Just after Celaena has started to trust her and they started their lessons togheter, but then they had that fight and to think that was the last thing they said to one another before her brutal murder, it just makes me so depressed on Celaena's behalf. Their friendship was beautiful, they were equally matched in temper and stubbornness and their friendship just made sense from the start. So for it to mercilessly be taken away, and then for her to try to kill Chaol and call him the enemy, it was too much to handle in such a short period of time. 

Also, Dorian's development through the novel is so great to see and he is such a great guy about the whole budding relationship between Chaol and Celaena, anc even though he does feel jealous and somewhat angry about he doesn't let it affect how he acts towards them. And his whole magic arc is one of my favourite things, the fact that Dorian has raw magic is one of the things I am the most excited about for the future sequels. 

When it was revealed that Celaena is Fae I was so excited, because I had suspected that ever since we saw Celaena in the forest just after leaving Endovier with Chaol and Dorian. I think it will be really interesting to see where this information leads and what Chaol is going to do now that he knows about her heritage and that she is a lost princess (!!!). And I am wondering what that date means, it's obvious that it has some significance to her, but what, and what is she going to do on that date that will cause Chaol to hate her?? So many questions and so long until the last novel comes out, how will I survive until 2017?

I would recommend this series to anyone who loves fantasy and high fantasy with an elements of the young adult genre. I give this novel a 4.5 out of 5. 

CAS: 2.5 hours

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Darkest Powers series review

Titles: The Summoning, The Awakening, The Reckoning Author: Kelley Armstrong Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult Publisher: HarperCollins Series: Three books with a sequel series

Synopsis of the first novel taken from Goodreads:

My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again. All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don't even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost - and the ghost saw me. Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won't leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a "special home" for troubled teens. Yet the home isn't what it seems. Don't tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on? it's up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House...before its skeletons come back to haunt me.

I vaguely remembered reading this series when I was a lot younger, maybe about five years ago, and one of the few things I remember was absolutely loving it. Therefore, I was hesitant going back and rereading it, because I have changed my mind about many things since I was 12 years old (see: Twilight), but in the end I decided to at least try and hope they were as good as I remembered. And, I must say, they absolutely were.

One of my favourite things about this series is Kelley Armstrong's ability to bring in so many different fantasy elements and creatures without overwhelming the reader and giving all of the fantasy "classes" an equal share of time, so whether you find werewolves or necromancers or sorcerers more interesting, you will find something you like. And if you like all three, then this series is perfect for you! In addition, the diversity of the characters and the way they develop through the novels is fantastic. 

The main character, Chloe Saunders, may not be very unique from other young adult/paranormal novels in the beginning, she does stand out because of her flaws and strengths and how she grows and learns from the mistakes and flaws and reinforces her strengths. For example, she is very quiet about her discomfort of being around dead bodies because of the sheer strength of her powers because she does not want to be a burden, however her inability to tell the others leads to an even worse situation which she goes to learn from and later on voices her discomfort to Derek. However, she is very giving and possibly to a point of where the reader starts to get annoyed, even is we do also admire it. Like when she decided to just sit and watch the repetition of a death scene in an effort to let Derek rest after his transformation, which is an example of something that is admirable, but at the same time slightly stupid of her because she doesn't get enough sleep. Chloe is a very likeable character and an extremely fascinating character to follow through this series. 

Further, the relationships and their development are done so well in this series. By now it is probably no secret that I enjoy slow build relationships that take a long time to establish. Also, I love it when two characters go from hating each other, to tolerating each other, to worrying about the other and silently pining, to actually getting together. And this series has done the relationship between Chloe and Derek very well! I love how their relationship evolves and all the moments they share before they eventually get together are some of my favourite parts, they are so adorable!

Lastly, all the other characters are done so well and are fleshed out to some extent on par with the main character, as it should be. Tori is one of my favourite characters, because she is not just written as the token antagonist, but her past and reasons for acting as she does are explored and her character development is just so real. 

In the end, I would give this series 4.5 out of 5 stars. I would also recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good paranormal adventure story with a touch of romance and who don't mind that the main characters are slightly young (15 years old). 

CAS: 4 hours

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Four review

Title: Four Author: Veronica Roth Genre: Fantasy, Dystopia, Young Adult Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Series: Short stories before and during the Divergent series

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Two years before Beatrice Prior made her choice, the sixteen-year-old son of Abnegation’s faction leader did the same. Tobias’s transfer to Dauntless is a chance to begin again. Here, he will not be called the name his parents gave him. Here, he will not let fear turn him into a cowering child. Newly christened “Four,” he discovers during initiation that he will succeed in Dauntless. Initiation is only the beginning, though; Four must claim his place in the Dauntless hierarchy. His decisions will affect future initiates as well as uncover secrets that could threaten his own future—and the future of the entire faction system. Two years later, Four is poised to take action, but the course is still unclear. The first new initiate who jumps into the net might change all that. With her, the way to righting their world might become clear. With her, it might become possible to be Tobias once again.

The novel Four is a novel by Veronica Roth which consists of four (was that intentional?) short stories from Four's point of view. Four is one of my favourite characters in the Divergent series, so when this was announced I was very excited to be able to read some scenes from his perspective. I loved the fact that we had a new scene that was not before seen from Tris' POV and that we got to see some of our favourite scenes with Four's thoughts and feelings.

I think that this book showed a much more different side of Four than what we got to see during "Allegiant", as I felt that Tris and Four were extremely similar in that novel and it was hard distinguishing between them. I am very glad that we got to see a scene from his life in Abnegation as Tobias and see what kind of character development he went through from his younger years and to the Four we are introduced to in the "Divergent" series. 

One of my favourite scenes from the first book in the series was the scene where Tris is almost killed before Four swoops in and saves her, because I felt that was a defining moment for both of them and their relationship. For Tris I think it motivated her even more to kick ass and take names, and for Four I felt he could recognize being abused and seeing these three guys trying to hurt and abuse someone just set him off and that is why he snapped and beat one of them, because he could defend others and himself now, doing what he couldn't do to his father. It was very interesting to me to see exactly how Four felt when he saw Tris being ganged up on and seeing her in danger, in addition to how he was feeling about the situation afterwards in his apartment. 

To conclude, it was an entertaining and quick read that I sped through. It was interesting to see Four's character development and some of the more important points in his life, especially considering Four had a special place in my heart. I would recommend this book to anyone who has read the "Divergent" series and is interested in seeing some of the old scenes from Four's point of view and the new information was very interesting. I give this novel 3.5 out of 5 stars.

CAS: 1.5 hours

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Throne of Glass review

Title: Throne of Glass Author: Sarah J. Maas Genre: High Fantasy, Adventure, Young Adult Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's  Series: First book out of 6 

Synopsis taken from Goodreads: 

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.  Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.  Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another.  Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

This book is one of the best books I've read in a while. It has a lot of high fantasy elements, whilst still having young adult aspects to it, it has the perfect amounts from both genres. Therefore, I would recommend this to everyone who likes fantasy and young adults novels, but especially to those who have a hard time getting into high fantasy and need something to help start you off in the genre, like me. As someone who has been trying to read the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series and am slowly making my way through them I must say that this book/series is a great way to start to break ease into the fantasy and high fantasy genre. 

I picked this book up after seeing many positive reviews and people racing about the book and series and I went in to it knowing almost nothing, so it turned out that the novel was very different to what I was expecting. It was much easier to read than I expected, even if I did have some difficulties as the writing style is slightly different from that which is "typical" to the YA genre. Also, the story wasn't what I was expecting of a fantasy novel, I was thinking epic story spanning over many places that could easily confuse the reader, but again, I was wrong. While reading I got a sort of murder mysteries type feel mixed with the fantasy element and I loved it.

The plot was slightly predictable, but very, very well done. I was excited for what was going to happen even though I did have some inkling on who was responsible for the murders and who would win the tournament. Yet, it was entertaining and there were plot twists that I didn't expect and that kept the plot refreshing and exciting. 

Also, the characters were great, they were well fleshed out and there was some character development and all the characters were interesting and I felt invested in them, I even felt bad for some of the antagonist characters. There are three main characters, Assassin Caleana, Prince Dorian and Captain of the guard Chaol. Caleana is your typical badass female character, but (!!) she has a soft side and insecurities and emotions, and that isn't something we get to see too often. Dorian is the charismatic prince whom everyone loves, but he too has insecurities and actual emotions and isn't reduced to a single trope. Chaol is the strict, law-abiding side kick to Dorian, yet he's not actually that either, to be honest all the main characters in this novel don't follow any strict trope like we see in some YA, but have various aspects to their personalities, making them enjoyable and relatable characters. 

Now, there was some element of love triangle, which usually makes me groan and put the book down, but here it wasn't too in your face (thank god). There wasn't really any actual romance element, save for a few kisses, longing looks and innuendo. Personally, I adore Chaol and do not like the prospect of Celaena and Dorian, so fingers crossed! In addition, if there is going to be a romance element incorporated, which I expect there will be, then it seems as though it might be a slow burn and that is one of my favourite types of romances in novels, so I really enjoy that.

I think this book deserves a 4.5 out of 5 stars, just because of the love triangle (even though I do love seeing Chaol reluctantly jealous of Dorian), as I am really tired of all these love triangles. But, it is well done and does not reduce the reading experience significantly. 

CAS hours: 2.5 hours

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Shatter Me series review

Titles: Shatter Me, Unravel Me, Ignite Me Author: Tahereh Mafi Genre: Fantasy, Dystopia, Young Adult Publisher: Harper Series: Yes, 3 books 

Synopsis of the novel taken from Goodreads

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color. The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now. Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior

I have to say, I was really disappointed with this series. On top of all the hype I've seen for it and my own excitement to start the series, I was severely let down. As the concept on its own is very interesting, who doesn't like something x-men inspired (Juliette reminds me a bit of Rogue), I was even more let down by the execution and follow through of the novel. 

This is going to end up being more of a three part long review than an actual review of the series, because I have some points on each of the books as they were all so different. Let's start off with the first book in the series, Shatter Me, which was also the worst one in my opinion. The book starts off in a gentle manner whilst still putting the reader in the midst of the action, which was very well done. Also, I get the whole part of Juliette being confined from society for many years and stuff like that, but is it really necessary to shove in metaphor after metaphor that don't really make any sense? That was one of the things that really ruined the book for me and made it hard for me to read, it was just so forced and annoying that it almost turned me off reading. After a few hundred pages it wasn't as prominent and it slowly declines the further into the series you get, which was great.

It's been a while since I read the first book, but I distinctly remember me being very annoyed about the romance between Juliette and Adam, it was too rushed and it was very insta-lovey which I always hate. However, after reading Ignite Me it does make a lot more sense how she felt and the things that Juliette reflects over do give some understanding to the situation she was in and why she instantly feel for Adam. 

Further on to Unravel Me, which was significantly better than the first book, but still it did not blow me away. One of the things that I did like was that the small bit of character growth we got in the first book from nervous, shy girl to someone with some more confidence was to some extent reversed. This lead to a more realistic feel of Juliette as a person and shows that her years of mental walls and images were not undone in a matter of days, but she has ups and downs like all people, especially people in her position suffering from self image issues. Also in this book we get to see a lot more of Kenji and, to be honest, Kenji is my favourite character in the entire series, him and James are the ones I kept reading for. One of the main things I detested in this novel was Warner. Not Warner the character, because I actually found him very interesting, but what annoyed me the most was the unnecessary attraction and romantic plot line that was shoved in there. Why did that even seem like a good idea? It left me pissed off because really, just because you break up with Adam (which I was happy for because I didn't really like their relationship for many of the reasons that Juliette explores) doesn't mean you have to jump in the sack with another dude! Just take care of your own issues first and then worry about the love and boys etc.

I did like a lot of the character development and the relationships that Juliette formed through out the book with Kenji, Winston and Brandon (is that even how you spell his name?), but I was very disappointed with the amount of male characters as opposed to the amount of female characters. I would have liked if there were more female characters that Juliette could have bonded with, which Sonya and Sara would have been good for, if she had actually become friends with them and spent more time with them in the book.

Lastly, Ignite Me, which was the best book of the trilogy. It had enough action and excitement to keep me reading, and Kenji was such a central part of the book and the plot and we finally got to hear some of his problems and opinions on other things than just Juliette's romance issues (even though there is a load of that too). However, whenever Kenji wasn't in the scene there was mostly Juliette and Warner scenes where they have this weird romantic/sexual moments that pissed me right off. I 100% agree with Juliette breaking it off with Adam and I think that she was very smart to do so, even if it was initially for the wrong reasons, but Adam and Juliette just aren't compatible. But, Juliette faling for Warner and the way that their whole relationship was dealt with was extremely weird. Firstly, Warner is an ass, we saw that in the first two books, and now suddenly their is an explanation for every single thing that he did and any negative choice that he made has now morphed into a good or noble one (see Warner shooting one of his soldiers). I'm sorry, but there is no way that what Warner did to Kenji, Adam and anyone else during his life of being a huge dick is forgiveable, yet Juliette seems to just forget it and Warner doesn't bring it up so I guess we're not supposed to dwell on it. Second, Warner is an ass! No, really, he takes Juliettes notebook which contains her most private thoughts and fears, and reads it! And when Juliette asks him not to and asks for the notebook back he refuses. He stole her notebook and read it out loud for her and Juliette considers it kind of romantic? I'm not here for that, I truly detested Warner for doing that. Thirdly, of course Warner gets an amazing power, why wouldn't a guy like that get something that powerful.  

However, Ignite Me was a really good book, I like how it was resolved and Juliette's character was much less annoying. It's a shame that the best book had to be the last of the series, but at least it left me with a somewhat positive experience going away from the series. 

All in all, I was disappointed, but if you do like dystopia I would recommend you read it, because there were points where I was sucked into the action and unable to put the book down. The romance really brought it down for me and I wish that the whole Warner romance plot line had been ditched. If all YA authors could stop with the love triangles that would be great. 

I would rate this book 3 stars out of 5, leaning very much towards a 2.5 star rating, as the only thing that gave it another .5 stars was Kenji and James, my two favourite characters. 

Creativity CAS: 4.5 hours 

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Of Beast and Beauty book review

Title: Of Beast and Beauty Author: Stacey Jay Genre: Fantasy, Fairytale retelling, Young Adult Publisher: Delacorte Press Series: No, stand alone book

Synopsis of the novel taken from Goodreads

In the domed city of Yuan, the blind Princess Isra, a Smooth Skin, is raised to be a human sacrifice whose death will ensure her city’s vitality. In the desert outside Yuan, Gem, a mutant beast, fights to save his people, the Monstrous, from starvation. Neither dreams that together, they could return balance to both their worlds.

First off, I love fairytale retellings, and one of my absolute favourites is the story of Beauty and the Beast and as you probably can tell from the title, this novel is a retelling of that story. I was very excited to read this and I had high expectations to this, mainly because of the cover, but also because the story seemed like a very original take on the original fairytale.

The beginning of this novel is very cliché to me and I had to force myself to keep reading for one hundred or so pages, but after the initial struggle with the language and overall way of telling the story I managed to get used to it and I think the language became more YA appropriate.

From a fairytale retelling one would expect the plot to be somewhat predictable, considering it is a story that has already been told and this novel was to some extent predictable. It was however very original in the way the story was presented and the world was very different and futuristic, which I enjoyed. In addition, the love story took the course of one of my most beloved romantic tropes, which is the enemies-to-lovers trope where the characters initial dislike each other and then as they get to know each other better they fall in love. The romance of the novel was very cute and well paced and it was a semi slow build romance, at least for the size of the book. 

The characters are well fleshed out as well. It is very easy to recognise who is supposed to represent which character from the original fairytale (or the Disney version that I am more familiar with) and there are also many additional characters. All of the main characters have flaws and imperfections that make them more believable characters and it sucks that this has to be a positive point with YA, but a lot of YA literature does not include this. For example, Isra has a very reckless side, which leads to her getting into trouble and making bad decisions for herself and her kingdom. Yet, throughout the novel she becomes aware of this and tries to amend this by thinking carefully before making major decisions. There isn't huge room for character development, but there is some in respect to the history and the hatred between the two different people. 

Another part that I really liked about the novel is the history of the island and the two people. The way that the history was set up and the reasoning behind the dividing, the roses and the hatred between the two people is very believable and can be related to aspects of our own society in the form of racism and discrimination. In addition, some of the major plot points and things that were uncovered were exciting, if not somewhat predictable. However, I had a lot of fun reading this book and did find myself surprised and thrown and some of the twists and turns. 

In my opinion, this was a great read and a really fantastic take on The Beauty and the Beast fairytale and I would recommend anyone that likes to read fairytale retellings with a futuristic and fantastical twist to pick this book up and get through the initial chapters, because it really picks up. 

I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars and the only reason it didn't get the full 5 stars is because of the first part of the book that is slow to get through. 

Creativity CAS: 1.5 hours

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Under the Never Sky series review

Titles: Under the Never Sky, Through the Ever Night and Into the Still Blue. Author: Veronica Rossi Genre: Science fiction, Dystopia, Young Adult Publisher: HarperCollins Books in series: 3

Synopsis of the first book taken from Goodreads

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland--known as The Death Shop--are slim. If the cannibals don't get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She's been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild--a savage--and her only hope of staying alive.  A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile--everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

This is one of my favourite series ever, and the first book is one of my favourite reads. I went into this expecting a lot of cliché, overused tropes one typically expects to find in young adult dystopia, but I was pleasantly surprised. This story is about Aria who lives in Reverie, where everything in the real world is bland and grey, but they use their smarteyes to travel and meet in different realms. I am a sucker for anything with high-tech inventions with people who live their lives inside a virtual world, and this book has a great twist to this. However, most of this series does not use all of the high-tech technology because most of it takes place on the outside with all of the people who didn't get into one of these pod cities when they were first made. 

Our main character, Aria, has now been exiled from her home in Reverie and thrown into the outside world for the first time in her life. After stumbling around for hours she wanders into an Aether storm, and an outsider named Peregrine comes to her rescue. Aria and Perry are opposites, where Aria comes from technology and protection from the outside dangers, Perry lives outside in a tribe who is struggling to survive. This creates a tension, as both know of the other as a savage or enemy, so they effectively hate each other and do not trust one another at all. This is one of my absolute favourite dynamics. I love it when two people hate each other at first and then begrudgingly start to care about the other and slowly work their way to friends. This series has that, and it's done in a very believable way whilst being entertaining. 

The two main characters, Aria and Perry, are well fleshed out characters, with believable flaws and imperfections. We are slowly invited to the world of both the characters and start to understand their actions from their back story. Many of the minor characters also have good back stories and a very good characterization. All the characters react in a way that is understandable and true to their character, and they also grow and change through out the series according to choices they make. I love seeing good character growth, and this series provides with that, which many dystopians seem to forget in favour of more action, angst, and romance.  

This series has it all, from good characters, to amazing environment descriptions, to a slow build romance, to betrayal and plots. This series is just an adventure waiting to suck the reader in and not let them out until they have read every single book in the series. Because of this, I give it four out of five stars. 

4 out of 5 stars. 

Creativity CAS: 4.0 hours

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Quarantine book review

Title: Quarantine: The Loners Author: Lex Thomas (aka Lex Hrabe and Thomas Voorhies) Genre: Science fiction, Dystopia Publisher: EgmontUSA Series: Yes Book in series: First book out of 3

Here is a synopsis taken from Goodreads. 

It was just another ordinary day at McKinley High—until a massive explosion devastated the school. When loner David Thorpe tried to help his English teacher to safety, the teacher convulsed and died right in front of him. And that was just the beginning. A year later, McKinley has descended into chaos. All the students are infected with a virus that makes them deadly to adults. The school is under military quarantine. The teachers are gone. Violent gangs have formed based on high school social cliques. Without a gang, you’re as good as dead. And David has no gang. It’s just him and his little brother, Will, against the whole school.

*sigh* How do I even begin this review? Let's start off with the main character, David, who is your typical jock (who's dating a cheerleader with a "hot bod", of course) with anger issues and a really judgemental attitude. This novel starts off by our lovable main character discovering that his ultra hot girlfriend is cheating on him with one of his fellow team mates, and of course we are supposed to feel so sorry for this guy who had lost his mother and has a brother he takes very good care of. Now, I'm not saying I didn't feel somewhat sorry for him, and I would have felt way worse for him if he didn't seem like such a dickhead. But I guess if you are the stereotypical jock you have got to be a douche, right?

Badly written characters who fit perfectly in stereotypes aside, let's move on to the actual pandemic or disease that affects this school, which is more often than not the most interesting part of these kinds of novels. Personally, I like the fear element of these kinds of pandemics, so I prefer long, drawn out processes where there is a lot of confusion before people actually start dying from the disease. This is probably why I really didn't like the way the virus in this novel was done. In Quarantine the virus lives off teenagers and kills anyone who is not in puberty, so when David (who I guess got affected by this virus at some point before it really had entered the school?) tries to help his teacher with something, his teacher suddenly bursts into a fit of coughs and starts coughing up blood until he ultimately coughs up his lungs (pretty sure this isn't actually possible but I'll ignore that). Within the day the military/government have locked all the kids up in their huge high school and then just leave them for a few weeks or months. The whole process was just way too fast for my liking. 

Probably the most annoying and disgusting part of the whole book was the love triangle between David, his brother Will, and the girl David saves from being raped, who is coincidently also the girl Will had a sort of romance with. This entire part of the book was absolutely unnecessary. Why include a love triangle in a dystopian novel with a plot that could be extremely interesting if done well?? The love triangle seems to be more of an excuse to push drama on us from every side and this was pretty annoying and really just turned me off the whole book. 

Lastly, the writing wasn't very good at all. It relied on telling instead of actually showing the actions. Very often there were too many short, cut off sentences which made reading feel very choppy and rough. In addition to the actual writing style, all the female characters are horrible and poorly written. It's basically just a big cake of sexist stereotypes that places all the "pretty" girls as weak and then the more tomboyish girls as strong (which we have maybe 2 of). 

To round up, this book was horrible, however it was entertaining enough for me to manage to finish the entire book, so I'll give it 1.5 stars. I do not recommend this book to anyone else and I will not be reading any more of this series or form the author(s) Lex Thomas. 

1.5 out of 5 stars

Creativity CAS: 1.5 hour

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Divergent Series Review

(spoilers for all three books and endings)

Title: Divergent, Insurgent and Allegiant.  Author: Veronica Roth Genre: Science fiction, dystopia  Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins Series?: Yes Books in series: 3

Here is a synopsis of the first book, Divergent. 

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

This is one of the more entertaining series in the dystopian genre that I have read. It's about a young girl who is leaving in a futuristic Chicago and in her world they have different factions you are a part of. In this world factions are the most important bonds you will have, more important than your family or friends, and each faction has different ways of living that everyone in the faction must live up to and follow. This idea was very interesting and it was very well executed and the way it was written made the world seem like a very intriguing, yet somewhat scary, world to live in. Beatrice Prior is a part of Abnegation with the rest of her family, but she feels her personality clashes with the Abnegation ways, so she needs to decide whether or not to stay with her family and make her family proud or make her own decisions. To me, this represents what a lot of young teenagers and adults have to go through in the real world too, because that is the age of which many teens try to find themselves and who they really are.

One of my favourite parts of this book series was the characters and how many different angles there were to each character's personality. For example, a problem that persists through the entire series is after Tris has shot one of her friends, Will, during the simulation and afterwards whenever she touches a gun she is reminded of this happening, which leads to her not being able to hold a gun. In comparison to other books I've read where the protagonist is able to quickly push past their issues and "just get over it" this is a much better way of handling it because it makes the characters feel more alive and it gives them more dimensions. Another example is in Allegiant when Tobias and Cara are talking about forgiving Tris and Cara talks about how some days she has and other days she hasn't. To me it makes everything seem more realistic because you wouldn't just forgive and forget someone shooting your own brother.

Then let's talk about the ending of the last book and how one of main characters, Tris, was ripped from Tobias and robbed of the happy ending she deserved in a better city than the one she was used to. However, instead Tris died sacrificing herself for her friends and the last of her family. Now, while this aggravated me to no end, I felt this way of concluding Tris' character arc was a good ending. She went from being the kind of person who might sacrifice herself as a way to prove herself, to being a person who was willing to sacrifice herself because of guilt and a feeling that killing herself will gain her parents' approval, to ultimately being a person who will selflessly sacrifice herself for the greater good. In addition, she knew why her brother had volunteered to die, for the same reasons she was about to kill herself in the second book, and she knew that that was no way to die and he wasn't dying from a selfless act. But, one of the things that pissed me off the most was that she was able to fight off the death serum (!!!) and after accomplishing something as amazing as that, she was killed by something so, seemingly behind in times compared to the serums, as a bullet.

All in all, this series was a very entertaining series and a real page turner. I would recommend this to everyone who likes dystopian novels and realistic characters with flaws and imperfections. 

4 out of 5 stars, amazing read, go check it out if you haven't already! 

Hours of creativity: 3.5 hours