Review of the Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas

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The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas

I am literally so done with this series (in the best way possible). I don't make a habit of reading novellas but since the five novellas were oh so neatly condensed into an entire book, I figured why the heck not. I didn't particularly have any expectations since I thought that this book wouldn't really influence my readings of the rest of the series. Boy was I wrong. Reading these novellas, I could recognize the references and allusions to different parts of her past in the other books. THEY ALL MAKE SENSE. The novellas individually are like beautifully wrapped presents- each capable of standing on its own. But together, they become a really intricate story with an actual plot throughout all 5; it was great to read. I was going to review each novella individually but I am too lazy for that- plus the stories really combine to form one big story so I'll just generalize: Writing was great as always. Less fantasy, which is to be expected because this is before her Fae side came to life. MANY interesting new and somewhat familiar characters like Sam and Arobynn. It was really interesting to see Sam and Arobynn come to life since they have always had only small references to them in the other books; I had no idea Arobynn was what he was. And Sam. SAM BROKE MY HEART. IT WAS AWFUL. I SAW IT COMING YET I STILL CRIED. This book punches you in all the feels. Every single one. LOVE. xx Jennifer

Review of Fragments by Dan Wells

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Fragments by Dan Wells

AHHHHHH this book. Dan Wells really knows how to craft a dystopian novel.

I am not sure why, but I had been avoiding this book for a long time. Probably because the book was LONG and I forgot everything from Partials.

Luckily, Dan Wells managed to get me through and understand most of it! His writing is very descriptive and stylistic, despite its bleak topic. Speaking of, the whole book had a very dry, stark feel that was quite depressing to read about- but not something that could be avoided. The protagonists had to go through the struggles he set up in the book; it was the only fair thing he could have done to the characters.

The plot and story were really complex and developed well (while I didn't really care for Marcus' or Haru's perspective...) and I found myself on the edge of my seat for the cure to the RM virus and Partials' expiration date. Dan Wells really did the science fiction genre justice. So much sci-fi to last you a lifetime.

Of course, he managed to squeeze the barest of romance in there. It managed to satisfy me but definitely not detract from the whole story. (Kira x Sam all the way!) Some might say the romance was forced and unnecessary, which a small part of me agrees with but I just can't help but enjoy the romance. I can't help it!

Overall, I am just SO IMPRESSED with Dan Wells' creativity in this construction of the dystopia and all of the twists and turns. There really aren't enough true sci-fi YA books out there; this book be breaking boundaries! (such slang)

Have 9 books left on my TBR pile from the library... what will I read next? ;)

xx Jennifer

Short and Simple: Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott

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Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott

I have been in a reading slump and this book luckily helped me through that!

I read this book over a week on a cruise ship so perhaps my feelings towards it are due to my elation on the ship but this book didn't really live up to the hype...? 

The concept was so similar to the Hunger Games; it had a predictable plot; the writing was quite bland... and worst of all, the romance was SO, SO forced and only there to please the teen girls undoubtedly reading the book. It didn't really engage me the way I wanted to (then again, maybe because I was on a cruise and had so many other things to do). 

Despite the many faults I pointed out, I think the book did offer a bit more originality with "the Cure" and I'm definitely looking forward to what Victoria Scott does with the sequel.

xx Jennifer

Short and Simple: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

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Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Oh goodness, I have no words. I LOVED this book. Everything from the story to the characters to the romance to the writing. All of it was incredible.

The story, no matter how simplistic, was so engaging (probably due to the charismatic characters) and I found myself hooked. The characters were all so real but Cath has a place in my heart because she reminded me of myself (with her social anxiety and love for fictional universes). Fangirl connected with me in this way because I myself am a fangirl and feel the same emotions (GAHHHH). The romance came from an unexpected person WHO I AM ALL FOR. (I have such Levi views, I can't.) And Rainbow Rowell's writing flows so naturally that I cannot physically wait for her next books. I am officially hooked onto the Rainbow Rowell train. 

My last words are fitting for a review of this book. I am a PROUD fangirl.

xx Jennifer

July 2015

This July has been HECTIC (and thus I now have a bit of a reading slump) and I wanted to update you guys on it as well as relive it for myself.

The first week of July (July 1-5) was very blissful. I had no events or activities so I just read as many books as possible (as you can see from the book reviews on my blog). On July 4, there was a BIG clearance at the local Dillard's Clearance Center so I went (how patriotic of me!) and managed to buy 2 potential prom dresses. The blue one below was $20 and the black one was about $15. WHAT A BARGAIN! The blue one does need a little sewing (because the embellishments are kind of coming off). Both dresses need a trim and hem but I will probably just ask my aunt to do that because why waste money on that, am I right?! Comment below telling me which dress I should wear to prom :)

The week after (July 6-10) was my camp at UHD regarding watersheds. I had no idea what a watershed was going into it and I still kind of don't but the camp taught me SO much regarding research and lab techniques since we were in a microbiology lab where everything must be sterile! (Bunsen burners, 92-well plates, micropipettes, you name it!) I had little expectations going into the camp but with all the free food and activities, it turned out to be one of the best! The pic below is my incubation of several colonies from a toilet seat (much cleaner than I thought)!

After that camp was the STEM camp (July 13-17) at the same location. It was two weeks but I could only attend the first week because of my cruise the second week. I actually had high expectations of the STEM camp because it was more well funded with more activities and participants AND everyone got a free TI-89 at the end of it (but not me; Woe is me). Of course, it had to not meet those expectations. Everything was disorganized and the information taught was either too basic or taught from professors with really hard to understand accents that I was left frustrated or confused. Half of the time there, the head teacher spent trying to sell the campers UHD and I grew sick of it after the first day... (Did I mention I got a 4 year scholarship to UHD from the first camp? No? Well yeah, I did. That's how determined they were for us to attend their school!) We also had SAT prep, even for the people who already took it and were satisfied with their scores so I was left nodding off at the end of every day when that allotted time arrived. On top of all of that, when I told the leaders that I couldn't attend the second week, they said that I could POSSIBLY get a calculator but I had to contact them again after the cruise. (which I did, and I have yet to hear back from them)... Not my most pleasant camp. A positive thing is that I got to do DNA fingerprinting (gel electrophoresis) which was awesome!! Here are our results:

During the past two weeks of camp, I TRIED and TRIED to read the Mark of Athena but had little luck. I just can't seem to get into it since it's been years since the Son of Neptune... (and I am currently having the same dilemma with Fragments by Dan Wells!) I also failed to keep up with the Journey to Splits by blogilates as well as my pilates workouts... I have no one to blame but myself for not making the time and lacking motivation. I also didn't pack for the week long cruise I had the following week... I left that til the Friday night before. Which was really bad because I also happened to schedule a dinner with my middle school friends that same night.

The dinner with them was actually a little awkward. I felt kind of out of place since many I hadn't spoken to in years and had become quite distant. People change and I could definitely feel the rift. In that moment, I remember feeling so sad and isolated but looking back now, I've come to terms with the fact that people change and grow and it's not bad to have different friends than the ones you started out with. It was at Carrabba's, an Italian place, and while it was good, the pasta/cheese was a little too heavy for me. I will never get along well with cheese. 

Then... came the cruise. We went with some of my extended family on Carnival Freedom. Y'all, I know Carnival gets a bad rep (understandably), but Carnival really does have GREAT food and good service! (It lacks on the entertainment... at least on the older ships.) So going into it, I wasn't really expecting much. I just wanted to be home with my books since the Friday before, I had picked up 13 books from the library! The cruise really did have no entertainment whatsoever but I went to the many dance classes (really fun!) AND THE FOOD. SUCH DELICIOUSNESS. My cruise schedule literally consisted of wake up, eat, sleep, eat, sleep, eat, watch movie, sleep. Repeat. The gourmet food was amazing (since I usually eat the same foods at home over and over). Carnival also had the latest films as part of their entertainment so I got to watch Night of the Museum 2, Cinderella, TFIOS (have already seen), Mockingjay Part 1 (have already seen as well), Insurgent, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Unbroken, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Into the Woods... now I have so many movies in my arsenal! I went to two of the three ports and died of heat- honestly, just staying on the ship is the best. Sadly, the last port, which I didn't exit the ship for, turned out to be the best because of the white fine sand and clear blue water. The other two ports had kind of dirty water and really rocky sand. Overall, the cruise was amazing because I got to relax and not stress about reality. (Although I found out about the Lafayette theater shooting which was heartbreaking, RIP.) I'll add a few pics of the many we took on the cruise.

 

Now that I am at home, I am filled with stress from school clubs to college apps... HELP. Any tips on how relieve stress, just comment below for me please!

BUT CAN I GET A HOLLA FOR THE DRAMA, HELLO MONSTER. BECAUSE IT IS AMAZING. WATCH IT!

Have a wonderful day everyone and enjoy summer!

xx Jennifer

Short and Simple: Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

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Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

Sarah Dessen really is so magical. She manages to craft a story that relates SO well to teens. Even if my life isn't at all like Sydney's, I found her rollercoaster of emotions quite similar to mine throughout the years.

The story honestly has such heart and her writing makes the reader feel like they are there with Sydney throughout each of her struggles. This book was more about the romance- it was about building trust and confidence between friends and family.

Really heartwarming story by Sarah Dessen! I have been reading quite a lot of books though so I wasn't quite as spellbound as I would have liked but still... it's Sarah Dessen. QUEEN.

*** Was anyone emotionally disturbed by Ames?!?! Oh my goodness, I wanted to vomit so many times during any scenes involving him. Just no. ***

xx Jennifer

Short and Simple: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

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 A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

This was a really great Beauty and the Beast retelling! Gorgeous writing as always.

Throughout the story, I found myself making comparisons to Heir of Fire (as I had just read it and LOVED it) and that kind of made my experience less enjoyable. I kind of expected more fantasy but instead got more romance (which I was perfectly fine with! It fills in the missing romance from the TOG series haha.). However, I found the two main personalities similar to Celaena and Rowan and a lot of the Fae facts/fantasy so similar that it kind of had me cringing (the mating, iron, shapeshifting)... I kind of wish Maas kind of ventured beyond the Fae world that she is so comfortable with.

HOWEVER, the story is great! The first half of the book went a little slow but that was to build up the romance and the second half passed in a flash with all of the action- I was pleased. And the ending!!! I am SO pleased with it- I absolutely don't need a sequel to ruin it haha. I'm thinking Maas will do another retelling centering on different characters in the same world...?

Overall, really great! I had really high expectations after TOG and she didn't disappoint!

xx Jennifer

(Happy Fourth of July, guys!)

A Heartwrenching Review of Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

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Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

First off, before you guys read my review, I highly encourage you all to read the synopsis of this book in order to understand what I'll be talking about.

This book is about an incestuous relationship that develops between two siblings. Their love for each other stems from being neglected by a wayward, alcoholic mother thus having to raise their other three siblings by themselves. Their promotion to parental figures, in my eyes, cause them to love each other like a mother would for a father. 

Tabitha Suzuma's writing is gorgeous and effortless. It doesn't try to embellish anything but accurately relays what is necessary for the reader to understand what goes on behind Lochan's and Maya's minds as they progress in their forbidden relationship. Suzuma honestly made the progression of their romance real and natural. It seemed like it couldn't have not gone in that direction.

Of course, this book made me reevaluate what my views were of incest- something that rarely, if ever, crosses my minds. I have the same view when I first started reading it to having finished it- I think that although it should be accepted, the couple shouldn't be allowed to reproduce and no PDA. But of course, I feel similarly about gay relationships and even straight relationships (in terms of PDA). I think this book just made me understand incest more and be more tolerant/accepting. 

There's no doubt that this book left me questioning my relationships with my relatives. I think we all have those moments where we look at a relative and think "wow they're hot" or "wow they're so nice and caring" but we never cross that societal boundary and make a move on that. I am just THANKFUL I am an only child so I don't have to face any troubling thoughts after finishing the book.

Onto the story. It was SO good; I think Tabitha Suzuma portrayed the alcoholic mother and the effects of being raised by an alcoholic parent well- it affects so many people around the world. The family of 5 that they had was so heartwarming and real; they all became my little siblings. Each little detail about their individual habits (like Lochan's sore on his lip) and chores just made the tale vividly real and honest. 

But the END! GAH, the last couple of chapters were absolutely brutal. I cried and then sobbed at the ending (I type this as my tears dry and harden on my cheeks). It's such an agonizing ending but so fitting for this story. Any book that can leave me feeling this emotionally drained is AMAZING. This ending was nothing less than amazing.

A review I recommend y'all read is this one: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/120724743?book_show_action=false 

It's super funny and relatable!

I'm going to go calm my nerves down now and numb myself of all emotions. I'll be back with a review of A Court of Thorns and Roses!

Until then,

Jennifer xx

Short and Simple: The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

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The Winner's Crime - Marie Rutkoski

I think this book had the same impression on me as the first. It was good yet it left me feeling a little empty and disconnected inside.

The story was great and all but I wish it was easier to connect to the characters. And I felt the book for the most didn't progress at all until the very end... I grew impatient very easily. And I am the WORST about misunderstandings and this book was full of them and the main characters would never talk to each other. It irritated the heck out of me. Even if I understand why.

The book lacked something... but I can't quite pinpoint it. Despite it all, I still think it was a good read that will please those who enjoyed the first book!

xx Jennifer