noun [kee-smash] a random string of letters and symbols typed out on a keyboard or touchscreen, used to signal intense emotion in written communication:
Note: This is a spoiler-free review for the second novel of The Bone Witch trilogy by Rin Chupeco. If you haven’t read The Bone Witch yet, I recommend reading my review of it first.
Continue reading “The Heart Forger By Rin Chupeco: A Gripping, Intense Sequel To A Phenomenal YA Fantasy Series”
Note: This is a series review, meaning that I will be reviewing all three books of the series (The Cruel Prince, The Wicked King and Queen of Nothing) as a whole and will also be rating the series as a whole.
I rarely enjoy stories about the fae–despite their popularity, especially in the YA fantasy genre, very few writers have managed to properly encapsulate their terrifyingly violent and yet comically whimsical nature. The only good fae story, really good fae story that comes to mind is Julie Kagawa’s Iron Fey series. If you haven’t read it, you are absolutely missing out–it is one of the best fantasy novels that I have read and will forever cherish in my heart.
(And yes I have read Sara J Mass’s Court of Thorns series. No, I did not like it one bit)
Continue reading “The Folk Of The Air Series By Holly Black: A Brutal And Brilliant Fantasy”
Ratings: 5/5
Short review: Excellent novel is excellent. Highly recommend.
The tea (because there always seems to be a controversy or another whenever a marginalized author puts out a best-seller diverse novel): skip to the bottom.
TRIGGER WARNINGS: child abuse, mild torture and violence
Detailed review: Now this here is a stunning, exciting thought-provoking novel that I can’t wait to get more of. Roshani Chokshi (who made me remember why I love fantasy with her debut novel The Star-Touched Queen and its sequel A Crown of Wishes) once again brings a brilliantly written fantasy/heist story with a cast of incredibly fascinating, lovable characters, an intense and captivating plot line, slow burn romance, and breath-taking world building.
Set in the era of Moulin Rouge in a fictional, glittering and magical Paris, the book, on the surface, is about a team of 5 talented thieves working on their most dangerous and rewarding acquisition. However, as you dive deeper into the story and learn about each characters’ motivations and aspirations, the story begins to explore racism, colonialism, identity and disparity through well developed, diverse characters of all backgrounds. What I loved the most is that the author touches on these topics just long enough to make you pause, and ponder on important questions without taking the focus away from the actual heist.
Continue reading “The Gilded Wolves: A Nuanced Heist Fantasy That Explores Colorism, Colonialism And Power Struggles”
If there is any book that I can say have made a profound impact on my life, then it would be The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Misunderstood to be a children’s book by a surprisingly large number of people, The Little Prince is actually a book for young adults, providing us with thoughtful guidance and insights as we learn to navigate through life and all the complications and messes it brings us.
Continue reading “The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery: Food For Thought”
It was impossible, of course.
But when did that ever stop any dreamer from dreaming?
The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.
What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?
The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?
Welcome to Weep
Probably one of the most whimsical, magical, wonderful story I have ever read, Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor is the kind of young adult fantasy novel that challenges what constitutes as “impossible”. It is the kind of story where magic and science co-exist in such perfect harmony that the lines between reality and fantasy are duly blurred, and this vibrant, stunningly improbable world is full of people from all walks of life, each with heartbreaking and yet inspiring stories of their own.
The story begins with Lazlo Strange, an orphaned child who escapes the misery of his terrible, abusive childhood through daydreams of a fabled magical city that allegedly existed up until 300 years ago. He (and the reader) get their first taste of magic when one day, while Lazlo is still a child, everyone across the world forgets the name of this magical city–every time they try to speak it, they can only say Weep.
Things begin to get even stranger after that. But that’s not important at all. What’s important is that after a series of absurd, unfortunate incidents, Lazlo gets the chance to actually visit this mystical fabled city of Weep.
Continue reading “Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor: A Whimsical, Impossibly Imaginative, Lushly Narrated Fantasy”
What power can bruise the sky?
Two worlds are poised on the brink of a vicious war. By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera’s rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her.
When the brutal angel emperor brings his army to the human world, Karou and Akiva are finally reunited–not in love, but in tentative alliance against their common enemy. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people. And, perhaps, for themselves.
But with even bigger threats on the horizon, are Karou and Akiva strong enough to stand among the gods and monsters?
Trigger Warning: This book contains graphic scenes of violence
Dreams of Gods and Monsters is without a doubt, an excellent ending to an excellent series, but before I start fangirling reviewing this book, please note that this review might contain minor spoilers for those who have not yet read Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Days of Blood and Starlight. I highly recommend you read my review of those books first before you read this review.
Here’s what I enjoyed about this book:
World building (again): this time we get to explore the other side of Eretz, the home of the mysterious Stelians. The imagery is so vivid, and it truly shows how fantastical Taylor’s imagination is.
Continue reading “Review: Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor”
If you haven’t read the first book please do not read further as there are spoilers in this review.Feel free to read my review of Daughter of Smoke and Bone here if you are interested in starting this series!
Trigger Warning: Graphic scenes of violence and sexual assault
Continue reading “Review: Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor”
He is a Legend. She is a Prodigy.
Who will be Champion?
June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic—and each other—and now their country is on the brink of a new existence. June is back in the good graces of the Republic, working within the government’s elite circles as Princeps-Elect, while Day has been assigned a high-level military position.
But neither could have predicted the circumstances that will reunite them: just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic’s border cities. This new strain of plague is deadlier than ever, and June is the only one who knows the key to her country’s defense. But saving the lives of thousands will mean asking the one she loves to give up everything.
The third and final book of the Legend trilogy by Marie Lu surpassed all of my expectations—and let me tell you, my expectations were pretty high. I know I have said this before in my review of Prodigy, but Marie Lu’s writing improves dramatically after the first book in this series, and Champion was no exception. Here is a quick rundown of all the things that I loved about the book (and none of the things I didn’t like because guess what…I loved EVERYTHING!)
When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something frightening enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that got her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that had killed most of America’s children, but she and the others emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they could not control.
Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones. When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. She is on the run, desperate to find the only safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who have escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents. When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at having a life worth living.
Trigger warnings: molestation and sexual harassment
It’s been a while since I read a really, really good YA science fiction.
As stated by the blurb, the story is about a teenager with a dangerous, inexplicable ability who has been locked away in a camp full of kids like her when she was just a child. According to the government, these abilities are the result of a deadly plague that either kills children or gives them supernatural powers, and the camps are designed to help cure them of their disease.
In reality though, and we figure this out very early in the book, the camps are simply a cross between torture camps and science labs where these helpless children are experimented on and brutally abused on a daily basis.
Sounds familiar doesn’t it? I mean, there are so many novels out there with a similar premise about mutation/diseases resulting in human beings who are different and society’s immediate reaction is to fear them and hate them. And yet, The Darkest Minds is still unique and intriguing enough to keep its readers engaged because it is more than just a story about mutants trying to fight for their basic rights and it is more than just a story about good versus evil. What makes The Darkest Minds so beautiful in my opinion is the way the novel explores how this mutation personally affected each child and their respective families, as well as the society as a whole, and how the government manipulated and used this crisis to further their own agenda instead of helping its people. This novel also examines just how complex the oppression of a particular group can be, and how it is nearly impossible to break away from such oppression because the oppression began with a system that had been designed to work against these people. In this novel, Alexandra Bracken explores how difficult it is to dismantle structural abuse and how over time people become desensitized to it in their attempts to simply survive.
I also loved how there was no loophole whatsoever in the plot. I have this terrible habit of nitpicking a novel and trying to see if the author missed anything important–for instance, in a novel where children are either dying off before they can reach the age of 16 and those who survive are being, for all intents and purposes, expelled out of society, there would be a huge impact on world economy. Alexandra Bracken makes sure to cover these important aspects too, which made this novel all the more interesting to read.
I also loved the fact that there are no specific villain here–and there shouldn’t be, not with this premise. Besides the government itself, there are other antagonists who are morally grey, and while their complexity made this story exciting, I couldn’t help but feel terrible about the poor children who have no one who truly have their best interests at heart.
And of course, there are the characters. Each and every character, from our protagonist to the supporting characters were wonderfully fleshed out and well developed. Ruby, our narrator, reminded me of Juliette from Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me series, but unlike Juliette, Ruby is much stronger; she is obviously a survivor and I loved that in spite of growing up amidst such violence she managed to stay sane and have a strong moral sense.
Liam, our MC’s love interest, is absolutely adorable and the non-romantic scenes between him and Ruby were just as good as the romantic ones. They complement each other perfectly, and I especially loved how protective Ruby felt about him–usually, that’s something we see in our male characters only, giving rise to the stereotype that men are generally the protectors and the women are the ones who need protection.
Chubs is also another adorable, sassy character and personally I shipped him with Ruby (though I knew it would never happen) because of the way they progressed from hating each other to respecting each other before finally learning to care deeply about each other. I believe that the best relationships are those that are founded on friendship, so I really would have loved to see these two become something more.
(Plus it would be nice to see the designated sidekick get the girl for once)
Oh and Zu! Every scene with little Zu made my heart melt. If only I could reach into this book and give this sweetheart a bear hug and shower her with a thousand kisses and sparkly dresses and remind her that she is not evil, no matter what the world said.
Now you might ask: if this book is all that great why not just give it 5 coffee cups?
Well…
There were certain important scenes during the climax of the story that were unclear and unambiguous–the writing was very vague and it was hard to understand what was actually happening. Normally I wouldn’t lower my rating for a book for just one flaw, but these scenes were so critical that I simply have to subtract one coffee cup.
We are almost at the end of this review but before I wrap things up there is something I would like to note: there is one particular scene of molestation in this book. I am mentioning this because as someone with a personal history of sexual abuse, this scene was very important to me. The author did justice to the response of the character in that situation, and though it did bring up some unpleasant memories it also made me feel…I don’t know…it also somehow made me feel less helpless and less alone about what had happened to me, because it was a reminder that there are other survivors like me too.
The ending was absolutely spot on! It was heartbreaking (of course it was) and it made me miserable for two whole days, but it was also crucial turning point for our characters, and I cannot wait to see how they grow in the next books.
All the world shall be your enemy, prince of a thousand enemies. When they catch you they will kill but first they must catch you, digger, runner, prince with all the swift excuse. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.
Happy reading!
Injured and on the run, it has been seven days since June and Day barely escaped Los Angeles and the Republic with their lives. Day is believed dead having lost his own brother to an execution squad who thought they were assassinating him. June is now the Republic's most wanted traitor. Desperate for help, they turn to the Patriots - a vigilante rebel group sworn to bring down the Republic. But can they trust them or have they unwittingly become pawns in the most terrifying of political games?
Though this is a spoiler-free review, it is strongly recommended that you read the first book in this series, Legend (see review here) before reading this review.
Two weeks ago I reviewed Legend by Marie Lu, and while I was not particularly impressed with that book due to its lack of uniqueness in and sufficient world-building, Prodigy, the second book in the sequel, blew my mind. Intense and fast-paced, Prodigy was everything that a sequel in a series should be.