{Review} School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins

Title: School Spirits
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Format: Netgalley e-book ARC
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Release date: May 14, 2013
Date Read: April 3, 2013 - July 2, 2013
Rating: ✭✭✭

Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures.

But when Izzy's older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy's mom decides they need to take a break. Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it's not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate.

But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who's always been on her own, it's strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush. Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt?

Rachel Hawkins' delightful spin-off brings the same wit and charm as the New York Times best-selling Hex Hall series. Get ready for more magic, mystery and romance!

Well, it seems like this month’s sequels just aren’t living up to their predecessors, huh?

I liked the HEX HALL series for its wit, charm, and hilarity. Sophie, the main character, was a hilarious and relatable girl in an interesting school setting with a much better plot. SCHOOL SPIRITS focuses on Izzy, a girl we briefly met in the HEX HALL series, and her ghost-busting adventures at a new school.

I liked Izzy well enough, but she was rather blah compared to Sophie. Her companion and boyfriend, Dex, I very much adored. Funny, odd, and awkward, he was just what the story needed - as for the other characters, I can’t say the same.

The plot was chunky and boring - I’ve never been very engrossed by ghost stories (hell, the pilot episode of SUPERNATURAL had me rolling my eyes like nobody’s business - don’t worry, though, I grew to adore the series after a few episodes) but it felt like a roadside attraction. SCHOOL SPIRTS wasn’t really about the ghost - it was about Izzy and her friends, Izzy thinking about her missing sister, and Izzy in a normal, human, high-school environment.

I’d recommend SCHOOL SPIRITS for younger readers, or readers who really loved HEX HALL - but if you had mixed feelings about the prequel series, I doubt you’ll enjoy SCHOOL SPIRITS very much.

Oceana is a French-blooded teenager who enjoys stalking British boys and asking them to marry her. She was diagnosed with severe fangirl disorder in 2011. Able to curse like a sailor with an angelic voice.

{Review} Ink by Amanda Sun

Title: Ink

Author: Amanda Sun

Format: Netgalley egalley

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release date: June 25th, 2013

Date Read: April 10th through 12th 2013

Rating: ✭

I looked down at the paper, still touching the tip of my shoe. I reached for it, flipping the page over to look. 

Scrawls of ink outlined a drawing of a girl lying on a bench.

A sick feeling started to twist in my stomach, like motion sickness.

And then the girl in the drawing turned her head, and her inky eyes glared straight into mine.

On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets.

Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive.

I've been really wondering if I read the right book or if I somehow got sent a different book on accident. It's seems like the most logical explanation for this failure I read. The real INK just can't be this bad, right? 

... right?


The reason INK was so bad was because it was so average. There wasn't anything unique about it other than the premise of paper gods. It's a very standard YA paranormal romance that deviates very little from the set of "rules" that much of the genre follows. Y'know, this stuff:

- someone moves into new town

This step is a must because how else are you going to find an awesome, mysterious guy that the heroine doesn't know? While the love interest can be the one to move to the town, it is much preferred to have the heroine move as to add to her outcasty, uniqueness. durh

- girl has trouble at school

This is also a must. The girl must have enemies so add a popular girl and get some stupid and silly reason for her to utterly despise the main character. Sometimes there isn't even a reason really.

- "best friends"

These "best friends" usually have zero personality and are used as filler material. There isn't any real reason for them other than nice and cheap plot and character development. Often they are used to push the heroine into the love interest.

- the heroine must bump into a hot paranormal dude

The sad part about this is that when I say, "bumps into", I mean quite literally as the heroine usually falls into the love interest. I'm quite certain that every one of these guys have the power to somehow make the force of gravity stronger on these heroines. 

---

INK fits into every one of these categories and more. It's like Amanda Sun had a pile of clichés and very poorly stitched them together. The main character, Katie, not only moves into a new town, she moves into a new country and continent. 

Wow, way to take that nice and far. 

While you can't often escape clichés and tropes, I really hate when the entire book is such walking cliché like INK is. There isn't a single point that makes this book even sort of redeemable unless you count the fact that it's set in Japan. Katie is an extremely annoying character and the romance is so insta that you just need to add water.

Katie is, for the most part, a bland Mary Sue. She can't lie at all. This character point is actually really depressing if you count the fact that it's one of the first things that come to mind when I think of her. She loves to endanger her life - y'know because you obviously it's a perfect idea to stalk a guy who supposedly beat up his best friend. She often morphs into possessive stalker a la Lucinda Price. She's also got a habit of being incredibly overdramatic:

I stared at him, my hands shaking. I'd been standing until then, but my legs buckled under me and I sank down to my knees beside him. I opened and closed my mouth, but no sound.- 21% in ARC

What elicited this response? He told her that his mother is dead. She was having a completely normal conversation and then all of a sudden, she just falls to the ground. Guys, read the passage in a really dramatic voice and picture that. It's so hilarious.

Tomo is pretty bland as a character. He's supposed to be this awesome hunk with an equally awesome personality but tbh, he's more of a hot guy than anything else. He doesn't have any qualities that jump out at you, whether they are positive or negative. He's a nonentity that I really don't care about.
The one fairly redeeming quality that saved this book from a disgusted DNF was the setting and the lore. I am the biggest lore sucker there ever was. I live for it. The lore behind the paranormal aspect of INK was interesting enough to keep me reading. 

If Sun had focused on this aspect instead of the romance, the book would have been so much better and actually would have lived up to the hype.

The writing was fairly average for the most part but I really enjoyed the sequences that described Tomo's art. They really felt like what I thought the book would be like. 

This book has so much wasted potential that it almost makes me sad to think about it. It could have been so amazing if it weren't for the averageness of the story, it could have gotten a much higher rating. I cannot recommend this to anyone and I won't be reading the sequel.

Lisbeth is an American teenager who enjoys blowing shit up in videogames and discussing decapitation in great detail. She's also obsessed with Oceana, but you're not supposed to know that.

{Review} Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Title: Clockwork Princess
Author: Cassandra Clare
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Release date: March 19, 2013
Date Read: March 19, 2013 - April 13, 2013
Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭

Tessa Gray should be happy - aren't all brides happy?
Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute.
A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her.

I can dislike Cassandra Clare, her MORTAL INSTRUMENTS series, and what she's done for however long I'd like, but that doesn't mean I don't absolutely adore this series. I won't feel ashamed for loving THE INFERNAL DEVICES. I refuse. 

This is one of my favorite series, and nothing will change that.

I read CLOCKWORK PRINCESS very slowly. I don't know why; perhaps it was because I didn't want to finish it, maybe it was because I was in a reading slump, or more likely: I just wasn't interested.

It took over a month of staring at the book, picking it up, and putting it back down before I forced myself to open it up, for realthis time, and start over.

And once I was sucked in, that was the end. I stayed up late at night reading; I skipped the first few minutes of class to hide in corner of the bathroom and finish the chapter; I stopped watching GAME OF THRONES for a few days just so I could reach the end.

The day I finished was one of the most miserable days in my existence. It wasn't just the book, though that contributed for sure. I pushed a chair against my door, and curling up in my bed, threw the covers over my head and began to cry. I sobbed and sniffled pathetically for at least an hour, and then I took a shower and went to bed at nine. I had a horrible nightmare and woke up sweating.

CLOCKWORK ANGEL has a special place in my heart, because it was one of the first books I ever 'reviewed' when I joined the blogosphere. I fell in love with the characters, and the story, and the writing when it wasn't riddled with hundreds of similes and metaphors.

I was fearful that CLOCKWORK PRINCESS would disappoint me and cause me unnecessary stress and sadness. 

It didn't disappoint me, not at all, but it sure devastated me.

CLOCKWORK PRINCESS wraps up the whole series lovingly and grievingly, sparing none of your emotions and crushing your heart. The conclusion will leave some thrilled and others crying uncontrollably. I, unfortunately, was in the latter group. 

Every character was so carefully detailed and crafted. It was hard for me not to love them all I failed at not adoring them, sorryharder for me not to scream and pull my hair out when bad things happened to them. They were so real, and that will always be Clare's strongest point in writing. They're so realistic; they act like assholes and they make mistakes and they go through the same pain that real people do.

I'd always enjoyed reading about Tessa; she was likable if a little dull, and she developed so much in this book. Looking back at the first book, the difference between past Tessa and current Tessa is unbelievable. 

Same with Will: I hated him with a burning passion at first. You, Will, were hysterical...



By CLOCKWORK PRINCESS, he was nearly unrecognizable. His horrible, prickly exterior had been stripped off, and beneath was a stunningly insecure soul who just needed love. He was still hilariously snarky at times, but it wasn't meant to degrade anyone.

Jem Carstairs has been my favorite literary character of all time since I read CLOCKWORK ANGEL a few years back. His undying sweetness, kindness, and loyalty to Will melted my heart the very first page he was introduced. CLOCKWORK PRINCESS revolves around Jem's illness and the countdown to his death, and that was probably the main reason CLOCKWORK PRINCESS hit me so hard. 

Jem and Will have this love for each other that even Tessa will never be able to interfere with. It's so beautiful and strong and unbreakable. I honestly spent most of my time holding back tears every time they were together.

There was so much angst in CLOCKWORK PRINCESS, and the love triangle was so damn... well, angsty. I was shipping Jill (Jem and Will) by page thirty, and all I wanted them to do was to say FUCK TESSA and elope and adopt beautiful children. Who cares if parabati can't have relationships? Besides being a Jill shipper, I'm also a Wessa shipper but a bigger Jessa shipper, so I was really quite hoping they'd have a threesome and just end it there.

Obviously, it didn't happen in that exact order that didn't happen.

Jem and Tessa have such a beautiful, lasting, strong bond. It's impossible to sever and only gets stronger with time. But Will and Tessa's love is bright and explosive omg I want to say TACO BELL but that's not appropriate and passionate. Tessa is in love with them both, and yes, I think it's possible.

It's like someone asking, "what's your favorite book?" I'm betting over seventy percent of bloggers and readers can't answer that, because they love so many. Tessa has two favorites, because she's a lucky bitch and lucky bitches get what they want.

The love triangle ended in a way that I was half pleased with and half distressed over. 

If you're a Jill shipper, you'll cry.
If you're a Jessa shipper, you'll cry. 
If you're a Wessa shipper, you'll cry. 
If you're a Wemssa shipper, you will definitely cry. 

Either way, you're fucked.

I've always admired Clare for the way she manages to intertwine THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS with THE INFERNAL DEVICES. All the family trees are kept straight and correct unlike the Warriors series, where Rowanclaw apparently undergoes an operation to turn into a male, and various questions that have appeared in her MORTAL INSTRUMENTS series are answered here. Though, I would love to see her try to manage the family tree with four possible Shadowhunter series. *snorts*

I feel as if Clare saw all the angry status updates a lot of bloggersincluding me were posting up about the SHEER AMOUNT OF SIMILES AND METAPHORS IN THESE GODDAMN BOOKS. Pages and pages of her MORTAL INSTRUMENTS series could've been cut if she had calmed the fuck down with the purple writing. CLOCKWORK PRINCESS shows a growth and maturity in the writing style that I never thought Clare could handle. 

Now, CLOCKWORK PRINCESS is not without its faults. Several parts of it annoyed and frustrated me beyond understanding.

And, of course, that ending. Tears.

CLOCKWORK PRINCESS was an appropriately heart-breaking ending to a beautiful series, and though I'm sad to see it end, I don't think it will be the last time we hear of the trio.

Oceana is a French-blooded teenager who enjoys stalking British boys and asking them to marry her. She was diagnosed with severe fangirl disorder in 2011. Able to curse like a sailor with an angelic voice.

{Review} Entwined by Heather Dixon

Title: Entwined
Author: Heather Dixon
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Scholastic
Release date: March 29, 2011
Date Read: April 15
Rating: ✭✭

Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her... beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing... it's taken away. All of it.

The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.

But there is a cost.

The Keeper likes to keep things.

Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

I had high hopes for ENTWINED, especially since retellings aretotally my thing, and I adore most fairy tales: especially The Twelve Dancing Princesses... well, not the original version, where the eldest sister marries this old solider and it's all very creepy.

Fortunately, Azalea, our main character and the eldest sister, doesn't end up marrying an elderly man. Unfortunately, the book just wasn't for me.

I did like the plot; a pretty original twist on the classic. However, it didn't keep my interest the whole way and I quickly began to get bored with it. I thought it was much more middle grade than young adult, because I could see how it was fluffy and cute, even though I didn't feel that way.

The sisters each had their own personality and traits (it was hard to confuse them), but they are behaved immaturely and far younger than their actual age. They giggled and squealed so much that I was sure I'd loose my mind. Azalea, especially, I found dull and quite unlikable, and I couldn't see what everyone else saw in her. Mr. Bradford was boring and stiff. It's very possible to craft a sweet, kind, "nice-guy" without making him snore-worthy. The King I did like when he wasn't sucking in his damn cheeks half the time; his character growth was fantastic and I really enjoyed reading about him. Our villain, the Keeper (not really a spoiler, honestly) was frightening and fascinating... at first.

The writing was lovely, for a fairy tale. It never would've worked if it wasn't, being a very distant and detached style with a lot of uncommonly used words pussyfooted .

ENTWINED may be truly amazing for some, but I didn't think so.

also, I'm aware that was one of the worst reviews I've ever written. GO AWAY.

Oceana is a French-blooded teenager who enjoys stalking British boys and asking them to marry her. She was diagnosed with severe fangirl disorder in 2011. Able to curse like a sailor with an angelic voice.

{Review} The Pirate's Wish by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Title: The Pirate's Wish

Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke

Format: Netgalley egalley
Publisher: Strange Chemistry

Release date: June 4th 2013 

Date Read: April 05 to 06, 2013

Rating: ✭✭

After setting out to break the curse that binds them together, the pirate Ananna and the assassin Naji find themselves stranded on an enchanted island in the north with nothing but a sword, their wits, and the secret to breaking the curse: complete three impossible tasks. With the help of their friend Marjani and a rather unusual ally, Ananna and Naji make their way south again, seeking what seems to be beyond their reach.

Unfortunately, Naji has enemies from the shadowy world known as the Mists, and Ananna must still face the repercussions of going up against the Pirate Confederation. Together, Naji and Ananna must break the curse, escape their enemies — and come to terms with their growing romantic attraction.

I should have expected this book to be bad. It's not like I ever love sequels or the final book in a series as much as I love the first book. They're often not worth the wait in any shape or fashion. But for some crazy and illogical reason, I did expect THE PIRATE'S WISH to be as enjoyable as THE ASSASSIN'S CURSE, if not even better. Instead, it failed me in many aspects.

The story takes place only a few days after the events of THE PIRATE'S CURSE leaving our favorite heroes on the island, trying to find a way off so they can break the curse. If you remember, the curse can only be broken if Naji and Ananna complete three impossible tasks.

These first few pages were very enjoyable, though there were a few hints of what's to come. The book became even more entertaining for me when the manticore, Ongraygeeomryn (don't worry, she's never referred to with this name). Ananna and the manticore's relationship was quite similar to the arashitora and Yukiko's relationship yet the arashitora definitely surpassed the manticore is adorableness because it is simply not possible to not think that a griffin snuggling up to a girl is the most adorable thing ever.

The book deteriorates rapidly when Ananna decides to kiss Naji, everything takes a downward spiral as Ananna adopts a "oh my gosh, I hate myself and my life and my hair and my body and my face and my lips" attitude. Because Naji doesn't want to be kissed in his sleep, Ananna suddenly thinks that her lips and her kissing technique is flawed.


Bitch, I wouldn't want to be kissed in my sleep and neither would you. That's sexual harassment whichever way you look at it. That's why he pulled a sword on you. Not because your lips are bad and your kissing style is poor. It's because he thought he wasbeing attacked.

This is definitely the point where it all went wrong. After this failed attempt at kissing him, Ananna started to sulk. Sulking is ok, we all do it. When your sulking lasts for most of the book, you know there's problem. 

Ananna was utterly insufferable because all she seemed to ever care about was getting Naji to like her. In the first book, Ananna didn't give a shit if Naji loved her or not. No, she was kind of busy surviving. In this one, whether or not Naji loves her is her biggest problem and her main concern. I mean, who cares if you're going to die as long as a cute boy loves you? 

She was definitely my biggest problem with the book, though not my only. My second biggest point of aggravation - no infuriation - was how the romance made it seem like Ananna's happiness depended on whether Naji was with her. Girl, you do not need a man to be happy. I would think that you of all people would know that.

Naji was pretty much the same but more subdued. By that I mean that all his badass witty comments are completely absent in this book and he spends his time fretting because he thinks these guys



will care about how ugly he is. I don't think that they're thinking, "Ew, he's like totes ugly." Dude, I'm pretty sure the only thing they're thinking is, "Oh look, yummy male-human! NUM NUM." 

There were a few really awesome parts. It's impossible for a book that not only has diva manticores but lesbian queens and armored sharks. Oh and pirate battles and manticore royalty. And an octopus. UM YES. That's so fucking awesome that I had to raise the rating by a star.

In the first book, the world and story was full of adventure and this something that I can't describe. It was like a drug. The moment you read the book, everything feels so happy and it's like you're floating on air.

But this book didn't have that. It just wasn't there. There wasn't a single moment that I felt like it even began to touch the feeling that I felt in THE ASSASSIN'S CURSE. It was still imaginative and creative but that feeling that I felt in the first book just wasn't there.

I really wish I could have loved this book like I thought I would've. It failed me in so many ways. I can't properly describe how devastated I am without either turning this review into a rant or making it sound very weepy. I'm so unhappy to say this but I can't recommend this book to anyone and I am unsure if I will want to read the spin off books.

Lisbeth is an American teenager who enjoys blowing shit up in videogames and discussing decapitation in great detail. She's also obsessed with Oceana, but you're not supposed to know that.

{Review} Pantomime by Laura Lam

Title: Pantomime
Author: Laura Lam
Format: NetGalley e-book ARC
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Release date: February 5, 2013
Date Read: February 5, 2013
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

R. H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass—remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone—are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything seems possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the magic and knowledge of the vanished Chimaera is still there. It’s a place where anyone can hide.

Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the circus’s rising star.


But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, and a secret in their blood that could unlock the mysteries of Ellada

WEIRD PREREVIEW THINGIE

This review will hold spoilers but none that you won't find in any of the other "spoiler" reviews for this book. If you do not want to know about what the big twist is (which is actually revealed around 25 - 30% in), I suggest you skip this review as the spoilers for that will not be marked. The spoilers begin in the next paragraph. 

Personally, I feel like this "twist" should have been stated in the actual description. I would have been 100x more excited for this book, if I knew about the twist. In the description, it says:

Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the circus’s rising star.

When I, like many other reviewers, first read this, I saw one thing: Gene x Micah. But the truth is, even though there is romance, it is not between Gene and Micah since they're, um, the same person. The protagonist is intersex. I really think that if this was in the description, it would be more popular because I'm sure there are others out there who wanted to read a YA book with an intersex protagonist.

I honestly do not understand why this is a secret since anyone who is paying a little bit of attention to the book would be able to realize this. Gene has not only similar physical qualities but the two "POVs" are pretty much the same. 

For a more in-depth assessment on why this "twist" should have been in the description read Experiment BL626's insightful review on why he thinks the same. Though I do not agree with every point, I do agree with many of them!

---

ACTUAL REVIEW THINGIE

PANTOMIME is a book that I've wanted to read ever since I first saw it on Cuddlebuggery. I got an ARC a long time ago but for some reason I could never get into it. It didn't help that I got the ARC during a bad time where I didn't - couldn't - read anything. 

But, when I finally got into a few days ago and finished it in a few hours like I always do in these stories.

PANTOMIME isn't the best book I've ever read. Something was missing throughout but I still enjoyed it very much. The best part of the novel, personally, is Micah, the main character. His troubles with his sexuality and identity were definitely my favourite part of the book.

Characters

Micah Grey, or Gene I suppose, is the intersex protagonist. Micah Grey is strong, smart, and just all-around amazing. I absolutely love him. The main focus of the novel is around Micah and his struggles with who he is. 

At times, the book could go very deep and get very depressing for a YA fantasy read. The only deepness I've seen in most YA fantasy is well... nothing. YA seems to save all the deep reads for contemp. reads. I felt really connected to Micah in this book, something that doesn't happen often - in any genre.
The supporting characters, Drystan and Aenea, were Micah's best friends also doubling as LIs. Though the romance is not the main focus of the book, there is a lot since the book revolves around sexuality and love, to a lesser but still prominent extent. Personally, I didn't mind this love triangle because it was barely portrayed as a love triangle, and by that I mean, Micah was not internally debating who he loved. *cough* Team Drystan *cough*

My favorite character, excluding the obvious Micah, was probably this one little side character who only had a few lines and pages. It was the little shopkeeper or stall keeper who took Micah in after he had run away. I don't know why I liked him, I just did.

Plot and Writing 

Plot

PANTOMIME is a very character based book, as YA books are slowly starting to do. The plot isn't very big. Micah isn't some mystical person, no one has supernatural powers, and there isn't a war. It's kind of hard to imagine but it's true.

There are a few hints of some more prominent plot in the second book, probably going to be about this ancient extinct race of Chimaera, who have a great magical power and this Vestige thing. *weird geeky reference warning* They sort of reminded me of the Dwemer from the TES series - in a good way of course.

The setting sort of reminded me of NIGHT CIRCUS but it was much less magical. PANTOMIME didn't have that mystical, magical feeling to it where it felt like Les Cirque des Rêves could be right outside your door.

Writing

It wasn't the most lyrical writing ever but for the book, it fit. It was emotional and expressed Micah's thoughts very clearly and well. I don't really have much to say on the writing since it was fairly average but not bad. No, the writing was very nice just I'm sure there could be... more.

Likes and Dislikes

Likes:

- Micah

- Characterization

- LGBTQIA aspect

Dislikes:

- It was still missing that part

In conclusion

Beautifully created, PANTOMIME is a masterpiece, which I full heartedly adore. The only thing keeping me from giving it a nice shiny five star rating is that I felt PANTOMIME was missing something. I'm not exactly sure what it is but it sure wasn't there. Still, I recommend this book to everyone and anyone.

Lisbeth is an American teenager who enjoys blowing shit up in videogames and discussing decapitation in great detail. She's also obsessed with Oceana, but you're not supposed to know that.

{Review} Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Release date: January 3, 2012
Date Read: February 6, 2013 - February 8, 2013
Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭

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.

This book is badass.


I mean, come on. Robots, Cinderella, China, Sailor Moon, creatures on the moon. How awesome does that sound? okay, a lot of things could go wrong, but still.

One of my best friends had apparently read this book (I say 'apparently' because I have yet to see her read, but she claims to have read almost every book I've ever mentioned) and told me that it was really 'weird', but not exactly horrible. She said I probably wouldn't like it and should just check it out at the library.

DON'T TRUST YOUR FRIENDS, BITCHES.

Okay, I'm going to admit that the only reason I purchased a paper copy of CINDER and read it in less than three days was because I was meeting Marissa Meyer, the author that week.

STUPID. I should have read it months before! Or actually, maybe it was good that I didn't, so I didn't have to wait forever for SCARLET to come out.

Anyway, CINDER was absolutely mind-blowing, and let me tell you, I have a huge author crush on Meyer.



CINDER is the story of sixteen year-old mechanic cyborg Cinder, living in New Beijing during a deadly plague. Thrown into a world of politics, royalty, romance, and lies, Cinder must do all she can to save her world from the psychotic Lunar Queen, Levana. 

Oh, also, she has to fend off the sexy Prince Kai. WHO THE HELL WOULD REJECT HIM, FOR REAL.

Meyer manages to spin this plot into an engrossing, interesting story, even though she's particularly weak when it comes to keeping the mystery... well, hidden. I found out the 'secret' by page seventy and when it was revealed, I wasn't surprised at all. But CINDER was so awesome anyway, I just didn't give a damn. 

The worldbuilding was amazing, but I wished there was more focus on Luna. However, CINDER wasn't meant to be centered around it, so I'm not knocking stars off. However, I believe one of the sequels will feature Luna! 



The writing is simply gorgeous. Oftentimes with third-person, I'm so bogged down by all the details that I don't pay attention to the story. But in first-person, the writing tends to be amateur and simple. Marissa can keep the focus on the story with an absorbing writing style that doesn't bore you to death or distract you the whole time.

There is absolutely no insta-love in CINDER, and surprisingly enough, when it's Kai's turn to tell the story, Cinder isn't mentioned often. It starts off as a tentative friendship, and doesn't really get that much farther than that in CINDER. Usually this would annoy me when the blurb claims there is romance, but there's definitely romantic undertones in CINDER.

The characters all had backstories and personalities and weren't just there for the show. They were all good characters, and you hated the ones you were supposed to hate with a passion. Cinder's stepmother and her stepsister were complete - GAHH, I HAVE NO WORDS. But Peony, the other stepsister, was simply too cute to describe.

Cinder has to be one of my favorite heroines ever, because she was realistic. She fucked up and did stupid things, but in the end she was kickass, funny, and loving. And loyal. Like a Doberman. I really felt for her as well.

Kai. Oh, Kai, my lovely, sensitive, sweet, sexy little Asian Prince. I love you so much. Kai needed some more characterization, but he was just so kind that I couldn't not adore him.



Levana is a fantastic villain and I really, really want to know more about her. She scared the crap out of me and she was far from a piece of dull plank wood. She's frightening and completely nuts. I mean, the whole time I wanted to ask her:


The cliffhanger was killer, and I was left clutching the book in anticipation at the Palace scene - if you've read CINDER, you know what I mean. If you haven't, then what the hell are you doing here? You should be reading this little bundle of fun.

Oceana is a French-blooded teenager who enjoys stalking British boys and asking them to marry her. She was diagnosed with severe fangirl disorder in 2011. Able to curse like a sailor with an angelic voice.

{Review} The Assassin's Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Title: The Assassin's Curse
Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke
Format: Paperback
Publisher:  Strange Chemistry
Release date: October 2, 2012
Date Read: January 22, 2013 - January 23, 2013
Rating: ✭✭

Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to an allying pirate clan: she wants to captain her own boat, not serve as second-in-command to her handsome yet clueless fiance. But her escape has dire consequences when she learns the scorned clan has sent an assassin after her.

And when the assassin, Naji, finally catches up with her, things get even worse. Ananna inadvertently triggers a nasty curse — with a life-altering result. Now Ananna and Naji are forced to become uneasy allies as they work together to break the curse and return their lives back to normal. Or at least as normal as the lives of a pirate and an assassin can be.

I don't think there are words to describe my severe disappointment after finishing THE ASSASSIN'S CURSE.

I began the book with high expectations after individually going through the glowing reviews my co-blogger friends wrote. I was ridiculously excited for THE ASSASSINS' CURSE - but not only did it let me down... I disliked it heartily in general.

I, along with a majority of the readers, found the idea of the plot to be interesting and original - a strong, independent pirate-chick on a quest to cut the bond between an assassin and herself. Plus, the blurb promised melting romantic tension, and I adore that in my novels.

It's because I'll be forever alone, so might as well read about other teenagers falling in love, eh?

But I found myself totally unimpressed with the plot, the characters, the writing, and the romance throughout the whole novel - not just the beginning, which was said to be the weakest part.

The storyline dragged on and on, and I could completely imagine THE ASSASSIN'S CURSE as a prequel novel. Why? The blurb lied, because Ananna and Naji only begin the quest to sever the curse at the very end.

The world-building was subtle and well-done, but there also weren't enough details. I'm still in the dark about the Empire and the Confederacy, because Clarke didn't expand on it enough.

In case you haven't noticed, Ananna is a pirate. The opening sentence contained the word ain't in it, and from there on, I could barely focus on the story because I was too busy translating her bad grammar and language in general. She didn't even sound like a freaking pirate in my head - she sounded Southern, because, you know, that's the first thing that comes to my mind when someone says ain't.

I only got a break from it when Naji or another character spoke.

The writing flowed perfectly with Ananna's thoughts: choppy, simple, and easy to understand, but lacking in elegance, too.

Nearly every character was flat and two-dimensional - especially Leila, a river nymph who's only purpose was to spite Ananna, sabotage them, and act like a high-school bitch. No one gives a shit about Leila, right? Because there was no point in having such a flat character.

While various bloggers and reviewers found Ananna to be a hilarious badass, I can barely even express my hatred of her. Annoying, bratty, naive, stupid, and whiny (YOU WANT SOME CHEESE WITH THAT WHINE, SWEETHEART?), I despised her with a passion. The world revolved around Ananna and her constant complaining about how ugly she was irked the crap out of me. 

Now, Ananna was also very realistic. She was a survivalist, and I appreciated that. But when she's throwing out quotes like these, I lost all the remaining respect I had for her:

She's beautiful. It means she ain't trustworthy... Beautiful people, things are too easy for 'em. They don't know how to survive in this world. Somebody's ugly, or even plain, normal-looking, that means they got to work twice as hard for things. For anything. Just to get people to listen to 'em, or take 'em serious. So yeah. I don't trust beautiful people.

First of all, Miss Pineapple (yes, her name means pineapple in French), you ungrateful little girl, 'beautiful people don't know how to survive in this world'? That's the most ignorant thing I've read this year. And I don't think life is going to be any easier for, let's say, a model gang-raped and murdered. Because in the end, if you're dead, and the model is dead, you're BOTH FUCKING SIX FEET UNDER, AREN'T YOU?

Don't trust good-looking people, guys, because they'll all stab you in the back.

I can't stand heroines without a backbone: heroines who need the guy to always save them, heroines who can't stand up for themselves. Heroines who have absolutely no confidence in themselves, and most of all, I can't stand damsels in distress.

Hi, I'd like to introduce you to Naji.

Please meet the weakest, blindest, most sensitive, mysterious, and unconfident hero in young-adult literature I have read to date.

Just because you're a guy doesn't mean you get a free pass on this bullshit, because I am not sexist, believe it or not. Having a hero who looks at themselves in the mirror and goes 'boo-whoo-whoo, I'm so fugly', is just as frustrating as having a heroine who does it.

I would literally not be surprised if Naji looked at himself in the mirror and imagined that happening.

As part of the curse, Naji is supposed to 'protect' Ananna, but it really just ends up as Ananna going all Avatar on his ass. All. The. Time.

Except that it wasn't scarce, like in Avatar, and it definitely wasn't as sexy as that scene. Sure, Naji had an excuse for being such a damso-in-distress - using magic took up his energy and life force.

IT'S.
STILL.
INFURIATING.

I want a guy who can take care of himself and a girl who can too. Having a girl constantly protect a guy, and vice versa, is equally tiring.

And there was one area that had me tearing my hair out:

THE PERSON
WHO WROTE
THE BLURB
IS A
TOTAL
LIAR.
AGAIN.

There is absolutely no bloody romance in THE ASSASSIN'S CURSE, and sure, I can deal with that. But when I'm told that it's a swooning romance and it's actually a nonexistent, ill-founded, unrequited love, I am going to get annoyed.

I was promised some damn romance and I was lied to, because there was no chemistry, no kiss, and no attraction at all. I hate insta-love as much as the next person, but this can't even be called slowly falling in love BECAUSE THERE WAS NO EFFING ROMANCE. STOP FEEDING ME BULLSHIT. How about you just tell me that they're friends in this book, and in the next book, tell the truth?

Literally, the closest thing to 'romance' was their bickering, and it wasn't even good fighting. No romantic undertones, no fun bantering. Nada.

THE ASSASSIN'S CURSE was a serious miss for me. A lot of people adored it, and I'm sad to say that I was not one of them. Perhaps the second book will be better, because I'm fairly certain my co-blogger Lisbeth will murder me if I don't start loving the series.

Oceana is a French-blooded teenager who enjoys stalking British boys and asking them to marry her. She was diagnosed with severe fangirl disorder in 2011. Able to curse like a sailor with an angelic voice.