Just an Update

I still really need to do reviews for Little Brother and the Chaos Walking series.

And I just got a bunch of new books from Chapters, and found a bunch of books on my bookshelf I haven't read yet. Check them out!

• A Million Suns
• Birthmarked
• Eyes Like Stars
• Deadly Little Lies
• The Death Cure
• Inheritance
• Ender's Game

Review ][ Across the Universe

Title ][ Across the Universe

Author ][ Beth Revis

Chapters (Summary) ][ link

Rating ][

I really liked this book. I think the thing that threw me off initially with it was that I was expecting it to be totally amazing, and the beginning fell slightly short of that expectation. However, the rest of the book definitely didn't disappoint. The one criticism that I have is that the mystery was both too obvious and not obvious enough at the same time. Let me explain. It was super obvious who was committing the "crime" (for lack of a better word) and I guessed correctly about a quarter of the way through the book. On the other hand, although it was obvious it wasn't very well constructed. There weren't really any clues, so I never got the satisfaction of having to puzzle it out. I was hoping for something more like Angels & Demons (Dan Brown), or even just something remotely like it. However, for the entire novel we didn't know enough about the perpetrator to connect him to the crime. Although the whole thing was explained at the end (and totally made sense), I was a bit miffed that I hadn't been given any clues and yet still knew who it was. That's why I gave Across the Universe four kernels instead of five.

That said, the rest of the book was amazing. The society on the ship was fascinating, and I loved reading about a population that was not only evolved/futuristic, but also isolated and placed in a very unique situation. Some parts were truly horrific, and sometimes I just wanted to reach into the novel and shake someone and tell them to wake up! Even though I knew the reasons behind it, sometimes it was truly hard to read about what people were believing. That said, the characters of Across the Universe were okay as far as characters go. I could totally relate to Amy, and Harley was amazing, but I couldn't quite figure out Elder. Maybe because his name is Elder, which makes him seem a lot older than 17 (I think). There was just something about him that bothered me, although I grew to like him by the end of the book.

The thing that really stood out for me in this novel was the ship, and the feeling of isolation, danger and claustrophobia. A lot of the issues Amy and Elder faced where really closely related to some of my biggest phobias, so their situations had a huge impact on me. This book literally had me hyperventilating and unable to fall asleep at night. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, because it made me think a lot more about the book and about myself, and I could totally connect to what was going on. I felt for the characters, laughed with them and cried with them, which made them seem that much more real. I honestly don't think I've ever felt like that about any other book.

Why four kernels? This book was amazing, and I really connected to it emotionally. Even if you don't totally fall for it like I did, it was still really enjoyable and a fascinating read. The only thing that really bothered me about it was the mystery, which was a major part of the plot and yet very underdeveloped. However, I still totally recommend it.

I just bought A Million Suns from Chapters and can't wait to read it. The reviews I've seen for it say it's better than Across the Universe so I have pretty high hopes!

][ Midelaye

Review ][ Deadly Little Secret

Title ][ Deadly Little Secret

Author ][ Laurie Faria Stolarz

Chapters (Summary) ][ link

Rating ][

I'm trying to get back into the habit of reviewing, so bear with me because I may be a little rusty. So... Deadly Little Secret. I just finished this book today, and throughout the whole book I kept thinking "This is so predictable!" yet I couldn't put the stupid thing down! It was really fun to read, and a great break from the tome that is Game of Thrones.

However, the ending was totally predictable. I guessed who the creepy stalker was on page 20, yet that didn't ruin the book. I still loved reading about the characters (who were a tad unrealistic at times) and seeing how they developed over the course of the novel. And Ben. Ben is my new boyfriend. I have a "boyfriend" in every chick flick (er... book) I read, and he is totally it. At the beginning, he seemed like your typical too cool for school type of guy, but there were times where I genuinely wanted to hug him and tell him everything was going to be alright. I also found that I could relate to the main character Camelia, and now I want her job (she works at a pottery shop).

Deadly Little Secrets was catchy, had an okay plot and interesting characters, but I think the thing that really made this book for me was the horror aspect. The creepy parts literally scared me, and I found myself thinking that I would react exactly as Camelia did. It was really intense. If Stolarz's romance novels have this effect on me, then I can't wait to read her horror novels! Unfortunaly, Project 17 was sold out last time I went to Chapters and I'm currently hiding from the library so it may have to wait a while.

Why 3 kernels? This book was a ton of fun to read, but didn't really have any substance. The plot was simple, as was the writing, but the characters were still really fun to read about. And the scary scenes were legitimately creepy, and I don't get creeped out very easily (my hobbies include watching shows such as Ghost Adventures and Marble Hornets, and reading the scariest books I can get my hands on). All in all, a nice fluff-and-puff novel that would be great for teen girls that don't really like reading.

On a side note, I got the rest of this series for my birthday and can't wait to read it!

][ Midelaye

Mini Reviews ][ The Scorpio Races ][ Sweetly ][ Cinder

Hey y'all! I've decided to combine a few books in this review because I read them all a really long time ago so the reviews would be short anyway. I can't remember all the details, but I'll try my best to give an accurate portrayal of my opinions.

  Title ][ The Scorpio Races

Author ][ Maggie Stiefvater

Chapters (Summary) ][ link

Rating ][

I had to read this book because I loved Stiefvater's Shiver series, and I definitely wasn't disappointed! I was skeptical when I started, but ended up totally adoring The Scorpio Races. The characters were endearing, the plot was interesting, and I found myself torn between two sides. After all, the races can only have one winner, and I spent the whole novel trying to decide who to root for! I totally loved the ending, and even the alternating POV weren't too bad.

One thing that really impressed me in this novel was Stiefvater's depiction of riding. All of the descriptions were spot on, and I think it's one of the most accurate horseback riding novels I've ever read. As I am one myself, I feel I have to recommend this to all my fellow riders. Please read this! You won't be disappointed.

Why five kernels? This book was sweet, the romance was believable, the riding scenes made me feel as if I were actually riding, the ending was great and unpredictable, and it was interesting throughout. The perfect read for a rainy day.

Title ][ Sweetly

Author ][ Jackson Pearce

Chapters (Summary) ][ link

Rating ][

Sisters Red is one of my all time favourite novels, so obviously I had to read Sweetly. I wasn't disappointed with this one either. I love how the book centers around the child of the two main characters from the previous novel (each book focuses on one generation... isn't that cool?!), but I kinda wish it didn't include the werewolves. I think it would have worked just as well as an independent novel, rather than part of a serious. However, this is a really minor complaint, as the book truly was awesome. The characters were great (although Sophia broke my heart), and the novel flew by far too quickly. 

I will say that I always find Pearce's action sequences a tad hard to follow, but the rest of the book was so great that I'm willing to overlook it.

Why five kernels? It was great. I spent the weeks after learning how to make various kinds of chocolate and have now decided on a future career as a chocolatier. Yes, it really was that inspiring.

 Title ][ Cinder

Author ][ Marissa Meyer

Chapters (Summary) ][ link

Rating ][

 There's been so much hype around this book that I felt I had to read it. And I must say it was pretty good, despite sounding like your typical cliche-novel-disguised-as-something-original-but-truly-complete-random-and-horrid kind of book. There were some parts I had trouble believing ( I mean, the Lunars/aliens/mind readers? Really?), and I really wish that some parts of the novel could have been simplified down a bit. I mean, there's nothing wrong with the Lunars, but they just took this book out of the "kinda believable future" realm and put it in the kingdom of "totally fantasy, no effing way this will ever happen" which made me kind of sad. I like it when my books are believable, if a bit far fetched.

That said, I totally loved the main character. Cinder was a tough female protagonist, and she never gave up. She totally fit my archetype for favourite characters, and I can't wait to read about her in the next novel.

Why four kernels? If you don't mind authors throwing random mind-controlling aliens at you, you'll probably love this book. I found it a bit hard to believe, but still enjoyed the original concept and totally BAMF main character.

][ Midelaye

Reviews I Need to Do

Some reviews I need to catch up on.

1. The Scorpio Races
2. Chaos Walking Series (I'm excited for this one)
3. Cinder
4. Across The Universe

2012 is the end of the world

Time for a dystopic/post-apocalyptic reading challenge!

Hosted by Bookish Ardour

The Deets 

Running Dates; 1st of January – 31st of December 2012 

When Can I Sign Up; All the way up to the last two weeks of December 2012! 

Crossover Genres; Our Dystopia challenge also includes Post-Apocalypse and Ecotopia (environmentally dystopian). 

Challenge Levels

1. Asocial– Choose 5 books to read
2. Contagion – Choose 15 books to read
3. Soldier – Choose 30 books to read
4. Drone – Choose 50 books to read
5. Conditioned – Choose 75 books to read
6. Brainwashed – Choose anywhere between 76-135 books to read
7. Totalitarian – Choose anywhere between 136-200 books to read.

Afterwards

1. Your Reviews; Reviewing is optional! But if you do review we’d love for you to share them by submitting them on the Review Page
2. Finished: When you’re done it’s completion post time and you can share these on the Completion Post page.

Sounds like fun. I'll trying to complete the Soldier level (30 dystopic novels is a lot, but I read a ton anyway!), so wish me luck!

See my book list here .

Review ][ Legend

Title ][ Legend

Author ][ Marie Lu

Chapters (Summary) ][ link

Rating ][

Legend by Marie Lu takes place in a dystopic society and focuses on the relationship between the city's golden girl, June, and it's most wanted criminal, Day. It's also one of the most cliché novels I've read in a while, from your typical tyrannical, post-apocalyptic government, to the plague, to the perfect main characters without a single flaw. Now, I'm not saying that I didn't like it - I actually enjoyed it quite a bit - but I saw every plot twist coming from a mile away. Let's analyze it bit by bit, shall we?

Plot. The plot of Legend was nothing new. Although it was interesting to read and did have a couple of unique twists, I knew what was going to happen long before it happened, and I don't think I was surprised once. This is not a good thing. I like it when novels take my by surprise, and that was one of the things that made Legend seem boring. The novel also contained a ton of flashbacks, and I can't help feeling that there must have been a better way to incorporate the back story than reading flashback after flashback. However, I did enjoy hearing about the corrupt military/investigations (I seem to have a soft spot for police tales, see Mastiff rave below), and the action sequences.

June and Day's world was quite interesting to read about, but I can't help but feel that it could have been developed and explored much more. I feel like Lu just gave us the simplest (and most commonly used) explanations of how and why things worked and left it at that. I wanted something more unique, more descriptive, and just more in general! I also would have loved to learn why the world was the way it was, because despite all the time Day and June spend reminiscing about their individual pasts, they don't ever give a second thought to their society or how to fix it. They're just kind of there. If the novel had been longer (I mean, it's kind of small and measly), we could have explored the world and motives more. Instead, Lu gives us the bare minimum.

I know I've complained about June and Day quite a bit, they're actually quite BAMF characters. Day reminded me of Jace Wayland, and despite having a lame name (well, I thought it was lame and cliché for most the novel, until it's meaning was revealed at the very end), and even though he's a bit too perfect, he still is a very cool character. June was very awesome as well, and I especially found it interesting to read about her at the beginning although I felt like she lost her resolve a bit in the middle of the novel. And this is one of the only novels where I didn't mind reading from multiple points of view! That could be because they were so similar (I would have liked it if they had differed a little), but I felt it actually added to the story instead of taking away from it. One criticism I have about the characters was that their relationship. It seemed completely fake and had zero chemistry, and although I didn't mind too much in this book, I really hope this won't affect how much I enjoy the sequels.
 

Why three kernels? Legend is your classic, cliché dystopic novel, but that doesn't mean that there wasn't anything good about it. Although it won't surprise you, the characters were a joy to read about, and it did have a unique little flare. It's definitely not a novel that I would run out and buy right now from the nearest Chapters (at 11:30 pm), but it is something that I recommend for a nice, rainy day where you have nothing else to do. In general, not an amazing book, but a good book that hasn't quite lived up to it's full potential.

And I have to add a little note about the design of the novel here. Although I know the publishers wanted to make it stand out, YOU HAVE TO STOP SOMEWHERE! It had no fewer than 5 different fonts (keep it to 2 or 3 at the very most, please), and the coloured font for Day's narration simply did not work. Unlike Shiver, where I found the text colour interesting and a joy to read, Day's colour hurt my eyes while reflecting sunlight in a bright car and i found myself distracting by it and trying to determine exactly what colour it was (as it changed with the lighting and I was trying to figure out if it was actually gold or if I was going crazy) when I should have been focusing on the climax of the novel. I also picture Day as looking completely different from the author's sketches, so I've decided to draw him myself and post it here when I'm done.

Oh, and one last thing. In book 2, there will be a long, dead-boring journey, June and Day will fall out of love, then be back in love by the end, and someone's going to have to make a huge sacrifice/die. Probably a new character that we won't really care about. Yep, those are my predictions. They took 2 seconds to come up with and they're probably 100% true. Not quite sure if I'm going to read Legend's sequel yet.

][ Midelaye