#rohreviews

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Roh Reviews:

The Bone Season (The Bone Season #1) by Samantha Shannon

My Rating: ★ / 5

So, I finally decided to read The Bone Season. *Note* It was always one of those books that I just believed that I would love but I just didn’t want to read at that very moment (and not just because everyone was calling Samantha Shannon the next JK Rowling). Finally, I decided to give in and read it (even though I just recently bought a few more books to read).

I want to get it off my chest. I did not love this series. Believe me, there is no one more disappointed by this fact than me. Here is why I didn’t like it:

The characters were two-dimensional. There is not even one character that I came to love (or even simply like) after reading this novel. It’s a shame because I really did want to love this series.

Paige was not my favourite. This is disappointing because she’s the main character. I’m not quite sure why but there was something about her that rubbed me the wrong way. It seems like I’m supposed to love her because she comes from a privileged past but alas she turned her back on it (it’s a trope that’s been overused). She didn’t love it like her father did and all that other stuff so she turned to the more dangerous side of this dystopian society where she fits in better due to her powers. Seriously? All this screams is adrenaline junkie. I honestly don’t know what else to say but she’s one of those characters that I just don’t like. Never mind, it just hit me. I got it. She’s the Tris Prior in the series. Maybe that’ll change when (more like if) I read The Mime Order but probably not (it didn’t with Tris, after all). I honestly wouldn’t even shed a tear if she died at the end of the series like Tris, or any other character for that matter.

Warden may be the main ‘good’ guy out of the cast of antagonists but for me it seemed like Shannon made him out to be this godlike warrior who just failed miserably. He’s abusive. He’s may never physically abuse Paige (never lays a hand on Paige) but he’s mentally and emotionally abusive. He, without Paige’s permission, was forcing her to relive moments of her life that she would rather not remember - the protest scene with her cousin being an example. All of this, him drugging Paige constantly, feeding on her (causing her to be weak in situations), or plain out condescending her, it reminded me a lot of a mix between Rowan Whitethorn (Throne of Glass), Tamlin (A Court of Thorns and Roses), and first book Rhysand (A Court of Thorns and Roses). This is not a good thing, especially since Shannon is being compared to Rowling, the author of the children series Harry Potter.

The rest of the characters were so bland that I don’t want to talk about them. I don’t care for any of them. I’ll just mention that Julian...died...? (”You know, it was really unclear...” - Avatar: The Last Airbender). I didn’t even cry, and I already knew I wouldn’t but seriously, I didn’t even care. Maybe I’m just heartless but I’m more inclined to believe that it’s due to the bland writing that gave me no hints or personality for any character. It didn’t make me feel emotionally connected to any single character. Even Liss when she went through spirit shock and also died. No tears were shed during that particular death scene.

The one thing that really makes or breaks a fantasy / dystopian series for me is the world building. In the case of The Bone Season, the world building broke it. I am a reader that enjoys the level of detail and attention that is given to a new world (examples: A Darker Shade of Magic, A Song of Ice and Fire, Eragon, Graceling, The Hunger Games, etc.) which is why I am quite disappointed that the world building in this story just fell flat on its face. Shannon did a lot of information dumps in this novel. I did not appreciate it. There were so many moments throughout the book where it didn’t feel like I was reading for fun but more as an assigned reading for class (like a textbook). The information was not spaced out well throughout the series. In fact, it was sort of all clustered together and the pauses between the information dumps where the plot should have been explained and expanded on more wasn’t.

The romantic subplot between Paige and Warden was horrible. I hated it. Sure, I saw it coming from the beginning of the book (there were small details everywhere to show it was going to happen) but I was really hoping that it didn’t go the way I was predicting it would. I was left disappointed. It’s not because I don’t like either character very well. It’s because I really hate the whole ‘slave/master’ romance that authors try to use. It was what made me dislike the Glass Series (spinoff for Study Series) by Maria V. Snyder and The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski. That is always a big no-no for me. Another off-putting thing about the romantic subplot was the massive age difference (he’s 200ish and she’s only 19). It’s too much. It’s incredibly similar to the Aelin / Rowan romance in Throne of Glass and I find it disturbing.

There’s probably a few minor things that I liked about the series but honestly, I just can’t seem to think of them right now. Overall, I won’t recommend this novel to others. I’ll only mention that I didn’t like it if people ask.

Will I read The Mime Order and the rest of the books in this seven book (too long) series by Samantha Shannon? Probably not unless I particularly feel like getting confused and frustrated.

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i have a ‘the bone season’ review in my drafts but i’ll probably post it later on. if you want to check it out, you can see it on my goodreads. i rated it a 1/5 stars.

also i started reading salt to the sea!

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Roh Reviews:

A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2) by Sarah J. Maas

My Rating: ★★★.5 / 5

(this is a mini review because if it was larger I would have to do a proper review of A Court of Thorns and Roses — which I never did — and don’t feel like doing)

So, even though I said I wouldn’t read it (because the first one was awful), I did. (everyone on tumblr was raving about it and saying that it was definitely better than the first one).

All in all, it was definitely better because a lot of the plot holes from the first were filled. Tamlin wasn’t in it as much (yay! I dislike him so much) and that was an added bonus, also probably why I liked it better than the first. Rhysand’s character was better developed and his actions in the first one were better explained in the sequel (even though I’m still not a fan of him in the first one, his character was redeemed in the sequel). Feyre’s character was better developed in the sequel. I thoroughly disliked her in the first one but in this one, she became more aware of herself and her unlimited choices. That was definitely better than the lackluster character that she had been in the first book. The new characters that were introduced (Morrigan, Azriel, Amren, and Cassian) were all amazing in their own rights. I actually enjoyed the new cast of characters introduced more than the old characters because they were well developed. Their backstories were given as soon as Feyre became more comfortable in the Night Court so it wasn’t too much information thrown out at one time, which I liked.

Maas definitely redeemed herself (somewhat) with this one. The way that she showed both the physical and mental harm that is caused by an abusive relationship was really well done. Even the recovery process was written well. She showed readers that it is okay to get out of an abusive relationship and that’s a great message to send, especially to the young girls that are starting to read/reading this series. She showed the steps in understanding what an abusive relationship looks like and how to get out of one. Maas explained really well that you do not deserve unhappiness and if you feel that you are unhappy in a relationship, you owe it only to yourself to get out. You don’t owe anything to anyone but yourself. So good on you for that one, Maas!

Overall, though, I couldn’t say that I loved the book. That probably has more to do with the fact that there were just too many similarities between this and Maas’ Throne of Glass Series. (and I’ve already explained my feelings on throne of glass, so I’ll leave that out for now).

So, will I read the final book in the trilogy? Yes, but only because of this sequel (not the first one).

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Roh Reviews:

Shadowhunters by ABC Family Freeform

My rating: ★★.5

WARNING: THIS IS NOT A SPOILER FREE REVIEW. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

This show had so much anticipation around it and was hyped up so much during the moment it was announced. I was intrigued because I was sure that they would not be able to destroy the series like the movie did. I was correct in that assumption, at least.

So, backstory time of me with the book series: I’m not a fan. I mean, I was when I read the original trilogy, but then the author decided that she wanted to continue it and the fourth one came out and I was like ??? Then the prequel series came out and I was sort of like okay...this seems very similar but I read all three books. THEN I found out all the controversy surrounding the author herself and I was like: that’s it, I’m done. So, no, I never finished The Mortal Instruments book series (never even tried the fifth and sixth) because I wasn’t in the mood and won’t be in the mood to read The Dark Artifices or the others when they come out.

With all that being said, I wouldn’t completely give up on the first three books that held my attention the first time I read them. Not even after all these years. Which is the sole reason why I watched The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones movie and only got through it with lots of cringing and laughing (it was like when I watched The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 and decided that I wouldn’t watch part 2 because I couldn’t handle it). When I saw that they were making The Mortal Instruments: City of Ashes into a movie, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t going to watch it BUT then they cast Sigourney Weaver in the movie and I just had to watch it, if only for her. Lots of things happened (movie didn’t do well), saw the ideas for the sequel go up in smoke, and wasn’t surprised at all when it was no longer going to be made.

Shadowhunters, when announced, made me feel happy that the fandom itself was getting a second chance but sad because I don’t think that the book series was all that good at being translated onto the big screen. These thoughts made me step carefully throughout the production of the show. I didn’t know whether it would do great or not but I was willing to watch it and give it another shot, just for the original trilogy.

So, onto the review itself (I’ve seen the first two episodes):

Oh, god. The first episode left me feeling let down because it was all over the place. Although the second episode was much better, there was no forgetting the mess of the pilot. There was too many plot holes, which I waved away, because hey, it’s the pilot episode but the first twenty minutes of the series was a mess. It was a literal mess. Starting with Jace quite literally running into Clary, then randomly skipping to a few hours before, then skipping to a flashback of Clary and her mother, then skipping to Clary’s memories being taken away by Magnus, and then Pandemonium again. You can see, by my way of explanation, that it was all over the place. It was just...bad. Even before the show officially premiered (because of the trailers and sneak peeks), I knew I wasn’t going to be a big fan of the scripts because it seemed so cheesy and bad. I was correct. More than half the time I spent watching the first two episodes, I was cringing or downright laughing at the stupidity of the dialogue. I was expecting it, though, and was sadly not disappointed. But then I remembered: this is an ABC Family Freeform show, so I shouldn’t have expected anything less, considering all of their other shows. The music choice for the show was bad, too. If I hadn’t already felt like it was going downhill, then the acting itself just killed it for me.

I’d watched all the trailers and sneak peeks for the show when they came out. So, I was already dreading Katherine McNamara’s (Clary Fray) acting because it looked so forced and cringe worthy during the sneak peeks and trailers. What I wasn’t expecting: it was actually a smidge better than Dominic Sherwood’s...who was so two-dimensional...I had high hopes for him and they all fell short. Whether it’s because of his added facial expressions in all of his scenes make him look like he’s trying to hard or because he’s just generally not good, I don’t know. I was expecting so much from Sherwood but was let down.

Jocelyn Fray, the woman who I disliked in the books played by Maxim Roy, was surprisingly better written in the pilot because she actually tried to explain to Clary what was going on and why she did what she did but wasn’t given the chance. Isaiah Mustafa as Luke...I don’t know. There wasn’t much to go on other than he really is properly sticking to the Luke that was portrayed in City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) and I’m glad.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Emeraude Toubia. In all of the trailers and sneak peeks that were shown beforehand, it seemed like she always drew the short straw because she always ended up with the MOST cheesiest lines ever. Like, only ever her. Why? Honestly, though, I watched for the original trilogy but stayed for her, Alberto Rosende, and Matthew Daddario. Toubia’s acting was by far the best in both episodes and I feel that I’ll like Isabelle more than then I did while reading because she’s a proper three-dimensional character. Rosende was another great surprise, with his humour and general adorkableness. I feel like I really will like Simon more than I ever did in the City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) book because he’s not trying to get with Clary so much and because of Rosende himself. Daddario’s acting, though minimal in the first episode, was pretty darn spot on, especially in the second episode, of Alec throughout the original book trilogy. He was sarcastic, unwilling to befriend Clary, and a stickler for rules set forth by the Clave. Toubia, Rosende, and Daddario will definitely steal the show for me, I feel. Mainly because they seem so effortless and the most correct in their roles.

Dorothea Dot was another surprise. Although, I’m glad that we got to see a better friendship between her and Clary, and her and Jocelyn, than we ever did in the books, I honestly don’t know what else to say about her. Vanessa Matsui has potential, definitely, as an actress but I just don’t know... I’m glad that they are developing her as an actual character. Hodge Starkweather was another really big surprise, not because he’s young (he’s supposed to be the same age as Jocelyn, Valentine, and Luke), but because he’s so different. He doesn’t seem to fit the role of ‘mentor’ that was given to him in the books. I honestly am curious to see whether or not they will take the same road as the books and have him to what he did.

I realized I forgot to mention Alan Van Sprang as Valentine Morgenstern. Probably because I was not impressed, so far, by him as the antagonist of the series. I know Van Sprang can act (he was okay in Reign) but maybe it’s because of the scripts or because they brought out Valentine so early in the series, I was left very iffy about him. He wasn’t too horrifying as a character.

I think that fans of the book series will enjoy the many Easter eggs that were planted throughout the first two episodes, and the series itself. 

Overall, though, the first two episodes of Shadowhunters seemed to be throwing so much at the audience and expecting the audience to pick it up quickly without proper explanations. It’s a pain (I know because my sister and I had to keep pausing the show to explain things to my brother who had never read the books). I get that it’s the first season, and only the first two episodes, which is why I won’t judge to harshly but come on creators. Some of the people viewing the show haven’t read the books and have generally no idea what is going on...so please, explain better and ease the audience into the world of Shadowhunters instead of dragging them in by there feet and expecting them to get a hang of things.

I will definitely watch the first season of the show but I don’t know whether I’ll continue after if it catches up with City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3) because I’m not interested in the story after that book.

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Little Updates:

So, I watched Mockingjay Part 2 (The Hunger Games) last week and it was alright...mainly because it was missing Katniss’ commentary from the last book. It didn’t need to be that long...

I also started and finished Winter (The Lunar Chronicles) a few days ago and it was alright. Maybe I’ll expand more in a proper review but main thoughts: Luna should have been expanded on more if the revolution was supposed to take place on it...

I asked for either the first three books in the Falling Kingdoms series or the first two books in The Bone Season series from my secret santa and I got my first pick! So, I’ll probably start Falling Kingdoms either tomorrow or during the new year!:)

My mom also fractured her arm and has to get a surgery done on Thursday and I’ve had a major headache since yesterday so I don’t know if I’ll be able to update, reblog, or post as much during the next few days.

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Roh Reviews:

The Scorch Trials Movie (The Maze Runner #2)

wtf was this shit? They made Teresa the only betrayer? Like why is it only the female gets singled out to be the bad one in this? I never liked Aris and I hated him more in the movie because they made him out to be this amazing character when in the books he was a little shit. Why wasn’t Teresa built up like he was? No, instead she just crashed and burned worse than in the books (in my opinion) because this was just to redeem the male from being a betrayer. I’m glad I didn’t go see this in the theater because I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself from shouting about how idiotic it was.

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Roh Reviews:

Six of Crows (The Dregs #1) by Leigh Bardugo

My Rating: ★★★★★

This series is a spin off series from the Grisha Trilogy. Although, I’m a bit iffy about authors writing spin off series, Leigh Bardugo didn’t let me down. Usually, authors don’t live up to the hype surrounding the first one (that’s me talking about the Heroes of Olympus series and Bloodlines series). They just never seem to do the original series the justice they deserve. With Bardugo, however, this wasn’t a problem. In fact, it was quite the opposite for me.

I’ve never been too much of a fan of the original trilogy. It wasn’t my cup of tea, you could say. Six of Crows, on the other hand, was simply put: beautiful. It was wonderfully crafted and all of it felt so real. I am so glad I read the Grisha Trilogy only because I probably wouldn’t have given Six of Crows a chance (maybe I would’ve because the book itself is so beautiful, who knows).

I, also, don’t like too many point of views, even three point of views is a bit over the top in my opinion. The main reason is because I feel like authors don’t do a great job of making the characters seem real enough if they have to focus on so many different characters. Leigh Bardugo, on the other hand, didn’t seem to run into this problem.

Although, I never fell in love with the Darkling, Alina, or Mal the way some fans have, I grew to like Genya by the last book (Ruin and Rising) and the only one that I really truly liked was Nikolai (and he wasn’t even introduced until the second: Siege and Storm). With Six of Crows, though, I fell in love with all of the characters by the end of it (because some, I wasn’t overly fond of in the beginning).

These characters (Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Nina, Matthias, and Wylan) aren’t your typical black and white characters (like Alina and the Darkling in the Grisha Trilogy, in my opinion). These characters all belong to the grey, which is my main reason for loving them. They do things simply to survive that characters in other YA Novels just wouldn’t do. Short and sweet: they kill people because it’s either them being killed. So great on you, Bardugo, for making characters that are real.

I’d say out of the six main characters, Kaz and Inej are by far my favourites. Kaz, or better known as a thief with a gift for unlikely escapes, is the crippled boy who is surrounded in myth and puzzles to the outside world. He refuses to let his injury define him, too. He sought to build The Dregs into a formidable group to get his revenge on Pekka Rollins and although he hasn’t got his revenge yet, he still got the first part of his plan into motion. So, good on you, Kaz, especially with all the terribleness you had to endure with your brother and everything else. His whole outlook on life is getting the revenge that he feels like he needs to put Jordie’s (his brother) soul to rest. He is the boy who will do anything (and I mean anything) for the right price and he does just that. He isn’t known as Dirtyhands for nothing.

I’d say that I like Inej just a bit more than Kaz because she’s not just a spy known as the Wraith. She’s a girl who doesn’t let her past define her and she used it to her advantage even though it was as if she was reliving it again. Although, she respects Kaz and follows through with his demands, Inej doesn’t bow down and out of his way like the others (probably because the others would be dead before they could even try). She’s smart enough to understand the things that Kaz refuses to say and she understands that in the end, it’s her against the world, even if Kaz saved her from her past. She doesn’t belong to him and even he knows it (and accepts it). Inej Ghafa belongs to herself and no one else.

Jesper is not just a sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager but a comic relief with lots of witty comebacks. He reminded me so much of Janco (from the Study Series), who I completely adore. Wylan is a runaway with a privileged past that grew on me by the end, mainly because he’s such a big nerd and loves to learn how the world works. Nina is a Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums and a girl who refuses to bend or break for any person and uses her powers as a Grisha to get the results that she needs. Lastly, Matthias is a convict with a thirst for revenge that took longer to grow on me because of all his prejudice towards the Grisha.

The beginning was a bit confusing because all the characters and their stories needed to be set up but by the end of it, I was clamoring for more. I’d say that if you haven’t read the original series but want to read this one, just do it. It’s not necessary to read the original series because this is a whole new one that stands on it’s own feet (or spine, technically).

All in all, Six of Crows was a great read and I definitely recommend to readers looking for a book with characters that are grey.

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Roh Reviews:

Shadowhunters

just watched the official shadowhunters trailer and it looks sooooo damn cheesy (which i guess i should’ve expected because it’s by abc) but i thought it would be way better with all the hype and the fact that they aged up the characters. so far, it just seems like they aged them up for no reason...