E.I.R.

THE CRIMSON CROWN by Cinda Williams Chima

book 4, The Seven Realms Series

rating: 100000000000000000000/5

genre:[epic] fantasy, ya, romance? 

i’m not going to say a lot, but basically this book made me go ASDFGHJKL; so many times and it’s probably my most favorite closing to a series EVER. it wraps things up, but not in the sickly-sweet way where everyone ends up happy with their soulmate and they all live happily ever after with all the loose ends tied up. no, it’s just SO MUCH MORE REALISTIC because while there are happy things [raisa+han asdfghjkl;;!!!!!] there’s still bad stuff hovering in the background, like possible war and the fact that the clan’s pissed at both of our lovable idiots.BUT THAT’S WHAT REAL LIFE IS LIKE AHHHH I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!!!!!!

yeah, so basically all of you MUST GO AND READ THE ENTIRE SERIES RIGHT NOW I COMMAND YOU YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT BECAUSE ALL THE DRAMA AND RAISA AND HAN AND EVERYTHING WILL GRAB YOUR POOR LITTLE SHIPPER HEARTS AND SQUEEZE UNTIL YOU BLEED AND PLEASE OH MY GOD  YOU NEED TO GO AND READ IT SO I HAVE SOMEONE TO FANGIRL WITH PLEEEEAAAASE…

WILL SOMEONE READ IT? PLEEEEEEASE? FOR ME?

I’ve finally figured out the qualifiers for what I consider a good book.

first off, it has to be well written, which isn’t too surprising.

But the really, REALLY important part of that is that I can’ guess the ending. It’s a really big let-down if i can figure out the plot twist/secret/etc that the author is going to use to get us to the end the book. 

that’s why I ended up not particularly liking Under the Never Sky, Illuminate, Shatter Me, the Book of Blood and Shadow, etc. (though i will say that the Book of Blood and Shadow had me second-guessing myself enough that it wasn’t too bad)

and it’s also why I did end up liking books such as The Book Thief, The Lovely Bones, and anything by John Green, even though they’re not the types of books I usually choose to read (aka sci-fi and fantasy). The endings were completely original and I had no idea about what exactly was going to happen. So maybe while they weren’t the most exciting things I’ve ever read, they were good, and I’d be willing to read them again.

so tell me, what is it that you think makes a good book?

Wool by Hugh Howey

*adds to TBR list*

so i was on Goodreads submitting my review for Strands of Bronze and Gold, and it turns out that there’s going to be two sequels??? they’re sequels as in they’re retold fairy tales in the same setting as Strands, but i’m not really how sure how happy i am about this….

E.I.R.  *SPECIAL EDITION*

STRANDS OF BRONZE AND GOLD by Jane Nickerson

Genre: YA, fiction, retold-fairytale, historical-ish

Rating: 4/5

Strands of Bronze and Gold is a retelling of the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale “Bluebeard,” set in Mississippi in 1855. Recently orphaned Sophia Pethram is sent to live at Wyndriven Abbey with her godfather, the rich and mysterious Monsieur Bernard de Cressac. Confronted with his fluctuating moods, controlling personality, and mysterious past wives (all with hair as red as her own), Sophia tries to control her feelings for him as she begins to discover the truth about M. Bernard and his mysterious, terrible past.  She hunts down his secrets, and his hold on her tightens. Eventually, something has to break.

First of all, I’d like to thank Randombuzzers (a.k.a. Random House) for giving me this opportunity and awesome ARC through their Ambuzzadors program. I apologize that it’s taken me so long to write my review. 

So, when I first started Strands of Bronze and Gold, I wasn’t too impressed. I felt that the writing style wasn’t quite as polished or mature as it could have been, Sophie was bland and overly naïve, and M. Bernard’s actions were just completely over the top.  There were also a few details/references that I felt were completely unnecessary: M. Bernard’s beard having a “bluish” cast to it, Sophia’s copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and maybe the constant going on and on and on about her red hair and M. Bernard’s admiration of it. To simplify, it was moving pretty slowly.

As I went on, I started to like it a bit more: the writing improved a lot (or maybe I just adjusted, I’m not sure), but M. Bernard’s flirting and overly controlling attitude and Sophia’s continued naivety still had me banging my head in frustration. I wanted to scream at her for being such an idiot for not seeing the signs that this was an abusive relationship.

Then of course, she finally figured out that something was up. That was when I actually started liking the story, because things were starting to finally move. From there on, things were pretty awesome: Sophia starts listening to her eyes and using her brains, M. Bernard’s nasty side has come out, etc. I was still yelling at Sophia for being an idiot, of course, but it was out of concern for her safety now (that’s always a sign of a good book).  When everything finally ended, I was very pleased.

One of things I did like consistently throughout the book, though, was the setting; Jane Nickerson did a great job creating and maintaining the southern, pre-civil war atmosphere.  She populated it with a wonderful variety of characters, and while there were one or two times where I questioned the authenticity of clothing choices, everything else was absolutely wonderful.

Overall, I thought it was a pretty decent book. It may have started out really slow, but it ended up being really great, and Jane Nickerson did a great job making me love and hate the characters.

Recommend: yes

opinions are welcome (especially on my reviewing abilities. Was i good and/or helpful? or just annoying?)

EIR

so, i am completely behind on reviews. like, WAY behind. So here’s a list of all the books I’ve read recently, and I’ll at least come back some time and rate them. not sure if they’ll all get reviews. Strands of Bronze and Gold WILL get a VERY thorough review though, and that’ll probably happen next week when i’m on break. So here you go: 

• The Book of Blood and Shadow
• The Book Thief
• Strands of Bronze and Gold
• Rebel Heart (Dustlands book 2)
• Midwinter Blood
• City of a Thousand Dolls

any one got recommendations for me to read over spring break?

Changeling by Philippa Gregory (Order of Darkness book 1)

Genre: YA, historical/medieval fantasy

Rating: 2.8/5

First off, I would like to say thank you to Simon & Schuster for giving this to me, via a giveaway on facebook (p.s. it was also available to read for free on their site Pulse It, but I never got around to it then).

Second, you may or may not recognize the author, but she’s the same lady who wrote The Other Boleyn Girl (which you may remember that I read last year). It’s a written in a fairly similar style except that a) this is aimed at young adults, and therefore has young adults as main characters b)is much shorter, and covers a shorter time span, and c) contains elements of fantasy, though is still historically based.

That last difference is one of the two major things that made me dislike this book (I’ll get to the second soon). It would have been soooo much better as a pure medieval fantasy piece. Actually, it pretty much was, except that for some reason, she made the main character a part of some weird order that’s based in the church that hunts out supernatural/magical happenings (which is strange considering our character is rumored to be a faerie). All the religiousy-churchy stuff was the only thing that marked this as somewhat “historical” to me. It just…really put me off, for some reason.

Second major thing: anyone who’s read another of Gregory’s books knows that the overall story is veeeeeerrrrry long and has lots of little plot ups and downs. I think she halfway tried the same thing with Changeling, but she only got two in, and to me it was a complete and utter failure. Pretty much the first 2/3 to 3/4 of the book was devoted to solving the first case of “supernatural” happenings, which was perfectly fine. But then that’s all taken care of, you still have this chunk of book left, because she decides to just throw in another random case that has nothing to do with the first. It’s like, “oh, you think, you’re done? HAHA, NOT.” It would have worked better had it been related to the first case (I mean, other than by the hot girl they rescue), or just left to another book by itself. imagine your typical plot chart. now, instead of having it flatlining after the climax, imagine that it has a whole other peak (though a smaller one). that’s what it was like.

recommend: not really

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Genre: supernatural/paranormal

Rating: 4/5 for enjoyment, 5/5 for writing

This book is in a genre that I typically avoid. I always thought books about the aftermath of a death and its effect on the family would be as boring as hell. I would avoid them like the plague. And honestly, the only reason I picked this up was because I saw it at Goodwill for $1, and I was like, “hey, that was made into a movie, so it must not be too bad.” So I got it, and was pleasantly surprised by the result.

I think probably the most interesting point for me was that it was told by the girl who had been murdered, Susie, as she watches her family from heaven (though not one of the sort you’d expect). This gives the reader a very unique perspective on the entire story: our narrator is literally all seeing, but still affected by her emotions and attached to the people she left behind. It all adds a little bit of the magic and fantasy that I typically crave from books.

So maybe I didn’t quite enjoy it 100%, but it was very well written, and I enjoyed it.

Recommend: yes (but it’s maybe not for everyone)

mmmm, look at these beauties i got from Randombuzzers! i can’t wait to start reading my copy. Meanwhile, i’m looking for a good home for the other.

EIR

i’m so behind on my reviews, but i swear i will get to them! and now for an update

LAST READ: The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

CURRENTLY READING: the Book Theif by Markus Zusak

UP NEXT: Strands of Bronze and  Gold by Jane Nickerson

IMPORTANT: more book related news can be found here

E.I.R.

LAST READ: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, Changeling by Philippa Gregory (Order of Darkness book 1)

CURRENTLY READING: The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

UP NEXT: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

this i just an update, i’ll add reviews later. sorry :(

E.I.R.

i am completely exhaused and running on about 4 hrs of sleep, so honest to god i swear i will keep this short.

The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card (Mither Mages book 1)

genre: fantasy, science fiction, mythology

rating: 4.8/5

imagine a world where all of the gods of old-greek, egyptian, norse, etch-weren’t really gods, but people from another planet with great powers that are strengthened by passing through the magic gates between planets. now imagine that one tricky gatemaker seals all of the gates, trapping the others on Earth, where over the centuries they grow ever weaker, bc each new gatemage who is born is killed so that one family isn’t more powerful than the others. Enter Danny, who doesn’t seem to have any powers, but you never know…

so. did i like it? YES. it was very interesting, though it took a bit to get into. i like this new use of our mythologies, plus magic is always a bonus. i can’t wait for the next book to come out!

recommend? YES.

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore (Graceling #3)

genre: fantasy, adventure

rating: 5/5

this book constantly had me cooing, and sqealing, and exclaiming “what the heck is wrong with these people!” and i will admit that there were several times that i had to put the book down so i could fangirl and sqeal and cry and basically make a nuisance of myself (i hope nobody could hear me through the walls). It was a beautiful, beautiful, ending to the series, and now i really don’t blame Ms. Cashore for taking forever to write it, because i swear it is so amazing and complicated. Honestly the only problem i’ve ever had with her books is all of the casual sex, especially in this case, but I can deal.

recommend: YES. to anyone who loves fantasy, adventure, and romance, bc i swear these books are full of ALL OF THEM.

CURRENTLY READING: the lovely bones by Alice Sebold

UP NEXT: ???

between these two, i also re-read the Tithe series by Holly Black (Tithe, Valiant, Ironside), which i also highly recomend. dark fantasy/faerie

anyone got some recommendations?

E.I.R.

Miss Peregrin’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

genre: ya, fantasy, paranormal???

rating: 4.9/5

so, i went into this expecting some sort of really creepy horror story (i mean, look at the cover. if you don’t find that at least slightly creepy, something’s wrong with you). I have something called an ”over-active imagination,” so generally scary things and me don’t get along (like any type of zombies, even if they’re really nice ones like in warm bodies, will give me nightmares). Anyways…based on the cover, i wasn’t ever really planning on reading this book, but my local library’s YA section has improved drastically while i was away at college, and i found it sitting on a shelf the last time i was there. I knew it was becoming pretty popular, so i decided, heck, why not. so i got it. and now, the result:

Miss Peregrin’s Home for Peculiar Children is NOT a horror story. It’s more of a very dark fantasy/sci-fi paranormal ya novel. And it was actually very, very enjoyable. basically, Jacob travels to an island in Wales to try to discover more about his late grandfather’s past, especially involving the aforementioned Home for Peculiar Children. He discovers the ruins of the home, and finds that the children are not quite as dead as you think they’d be (sorry, no zombies. well, not really). They really are peculiar, with lots of weird, freaky powers, and Jacob discovers that he’s one of them. And then there’s lots of running and fighting the really nasty creepy things that want to kill them all.

One of my favorite things about the book is all of the old vintage photographs that are scattered throughout the story. They match what is described in the story almost perfectly (which means the author probably either wrote the story around them, or went in and changed a few details to match them. either way, they’re still pretty cool.) All of the photos generally depicted the childeren, and often displayed their powers so some of them were pretty creepy. okay, all of them were creepy.

and despite the book not being a horror story, the pictures are a very good reason as to why you should not be reading the book at 2 am.

can’t wait for the next book to come out.

recommend: yes

CURRENTLY READING:Airborn by kenneth oppel

UP NEXT: [more rereads]

you may not be hearing much from me for a while, as i go back to college in approximately 3-4 days. yikes.

DFTBA, and also, don’t forget to read :)

E.I.R.

oh god, i am so far behind on this that i really don’t want to do this. short reviews!

Looking for Alaska by John Green

genre: teen fiction

rating:5/5

yet another completely awesome book by John Green (it was his very first, actually). I think the reason I like his books so much is because, in reality, John is made of so much awesomeness that it just somehow leaks into his books. I love him more than i love them (in a completely unromantic way). so seriously, if you want to read John Green’s books, go check out vlogbrothers (his youtube channel) first, and his books will become so, so much better.

recommend: yes

Airborn/Skybreaker/Starclimber by Kenneth Oppel (the Airborn trilogy. or as Amazon calls it, the “matt cruse” series)

genre: steampunk, historical(ish), young adult

rating: 5/5

i said before that i’d heard this was a good steampunk book, and guess what, it is! lots of action, some romance, and flying-in airships! and nothing was too overblown (like some books i could mention, *coughclockworkcorsetcough*). everything flowed very well together. really the only thing i struggled with was the timeline, the characters didn’t always seem their ages and i wish the setting could have stayed a little more regular between books, but…i’ll deal. especially since i went through all three in a single day. i hope i have time to read them again before i go back to college. (i still like Leviathan better though. everyone should check it out!)

recommend: YES!

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen (book 1 of the Ascendence trilogy)

genres: fantasy, YA

rating: 4.7/5

honestly, i saw the ending to this one coming from a mile away (i read a lot of fantasy). It was still absolutely delightful, though, and i couldn’t resist the sassiness of the main character Sage. I apparently have a thing for cocky, thieving orphan boys…anyways, it was wonderful, at least until I reached the whole revealing of the secret twist. i’d already guessed, of course, but the author picked the simplest explanation, and i don’t think it really holds up very well. i mean, almost the entire book is written in 1st person from Sage’s POV, so how on earth could he not think about (and therefore give away) the secret plot twist? that’s my only problem though. the ending after that was wonderful and i was laughing out loud. I can’t wait for book 2, the Runaway King, to come out in March

recommed? Yes

CURRENTLY READING: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

UP NEXT: no idea…i want to try to reread the Airborn books before leaving for college

got any good book recommendations?

E.I.R.

Paper Towns by John Green

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green

genre: Teen fiction

rating: 5/5

Ok, i honestly will keep it short today.

JOHN GREEN IS TOTALLY COMPLETELY MADE OF AWESOME. HIS BOOKS ARE ALSO TOTALLY COMPLETELY MADE OF AWESOME. YOU SHOULD READ THEM. YOU MUST READ THEM. NOW!

hehe, can you tell that i really like John Green? But seriously, his books are totally awesome. Usually nothing can drag me away from fantasy, especially into the realm of teen fiction, but someone recommended The Fault in Our Stars to me, and I loved it, and then i got addicted to his youtube channel (vlogbrothers), and now i’m reading all of his books. I’m currenly on Looking for Alaska, which was his first book, and ironically is the last book of his that i have left. I’m very, very sad :( my only consolation is that i still have about four years of vlogbrothers videos to watch, and they are totally made of awesome.

recommend? YESYESYESYES

for more info (and lots of links) go to johngreenbooks.com

anyone got some good books to recommend?