Woohoo, another retelling! This week's #FirstPageFriday is Mirror, Mirror by Jen Calonita, and the review will drop January 8th!
Friday, December 27, 2019
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
Wayward Son - Rainbow Rowell
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
From the cover:
"The story is supposed to be over.
Simon Snow did everything he was supposed to do. He beat the villain. He won the war. He even fell in love. Now comes the good part, right? Now comes the happily ever after…
So why can’t Simon Snow get off the couch?
What he needs, according to his best friend, is a change of scenery. He just needs to see himself in a new light…
That’s how Simon and Penny and Baz end up in a vintage convertible, tearing across the American West.
They find trouble, of course. (Dragons, vampires, skunk-headed things with shotguns.) And they get lost. They get so lost, they start to wonder whether they ever knew where they were headed in the first place…"
From the cover:
"The story is supposed to be over.
Simon Snow did everything he was supposed to do. He beat the villain. He won the war. He even fell in love. Now comes the good part, right? Now comes the happily ever after…
So why can’t Simon Snow get off the couch?
What he needs, according to his best friend, is a change of scenery. He just needs to see himself in a new light…
That’s how Simon and Penny and Baz end up in a vintage convertible, tearing across the American West.
They find trouble, of course. (Dragons, vampires, skunk-headed things with shotguns.) And they get lost. They get so lost, they start to wonder whether they ever knew where they were headed in the first place…"
Oh, this book gave me feelings. So many feelings. I don't know how she does it, but the way that Rainbow Rowell manages to write serious things happening while still giving it a light-hearted feel is just...magical. It starts of by delving into Simon's struggle with depression and some pretty heart-wrenching issues with Simon and Baz's relationship, but things are serious without being super heavy. There were so many one-liners that made me literally laugh out loud, and just as many moments that had me tearing up. Penelope, Simon, and Baz were only starting to get to know each other as something other than mortal enemies when Carry On ended, and seeing them now, the way their relationships had changed...ugh. Like I said, so many feelings. I thought I loved Carry On, but I loved this so much more, and I even have a theory about what might happen in the next book. 😬😬😬
Speaking of...there's going to be a third book! Y'all! Waiting for this will be torture, but I ALREADY CANNOT WAIT. I need a release date, the sooner the better. I need a happy ending for Baz and Simon. And Bunce. And Agatha, even though she drives me bonkers. And friggin Shepard now! I love them all.
Friday, December 20, 2019
#FirstPageFriday - Ashes to Ashes
Once again, I'm doing a #FirstPageFriday featuring the last book in a trilogy after not reviewing the previous books. Such a slacker move! The review will encompass the whole trilogy, and be warned: there will be spoilers. Also be warned...this trilogy is ridiculous. I can't wait to finish it. And I can't wait for the review to drop on January 1st. First review of the year, woohoo!
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
The True Queen - Sarah Fine
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐
From the cover:
"Now that Ansa knows she is the destined queen of Kupari, she is desperate to find a permanent home for her people, the Kriegere, in the Kupari lands. But as the small band of warriors crosses into the foreign territory, Ansa loses her fragile grip on her newly-acquired—and violent—fire and ice magic and puts everyone, including her love Thyra, in danger.
Inside the walls of Kupari, Elli maintains the facade that she is the magical queen, with her secret—that she has no magic at all—on the brink of exposure every day. But as she tries to prepare the citizens to protect themselves from another invasion, unrest spreads as wielders like her beloved Oskar begin to lose control of their powers.
As Kupari grows increasingly unstable, with the land literally crumbling beneath their feet, and a common enemy once again threatening everything, these two young women on a collision course with destiny must find a way to save the realm and their people from total destruction.In this epic conclusion to the Impostor Queen series, Sarah Fine’s sweeping tale of two fierce leaders imbued with unimaginable power and called to unthinkable sacrifice finally answers the question: who has the strength to be the True Queen?"
OMFG you guys, I posted my First Page Friday for this book and said it was weird reviewing this one since I hadn't reviewed the first two of the series, and then I went back to look through my old reviews, and I did review the first one! HA! How did I forget? And why did I review the first and decide to review the third, but I never reviewed the second? (Honestly...because I read the second book on a plane flying home from Italy, and that flight destroyed me.) I don't want to leave the second book out, so I'm going to turn this into a two-fer.
So...The Cursed Queen is the second book in this series, and it follows Ansa, who was stolen from her people by the Krigere, a warrior clan, as a small child. After a run-in with the Kupari's Valtia during a battle on the water, Ansa is imbued with the Valtia's powers over fire and ice. The young warrior believes herself to have been cursed by the Kupari leader, and, fearful of witchcraft, she struggles to hide and control her new powers. Gradually, she learns the true meaning of her powers, and as she gains knowledge about her past and future, she struggles to determine who she can trust. This book kept me on the edge of my seat. Ansa's journey was stressful and terrifying at times, and while I was pretty sure I knew who she could trust, there were definitely times where I, like Ansa, was terrified that she couldn't trust anyone. I also felt her powerlessness in the moments where she couldn't figure out how to control the fire and ice, and whew...this book was equal parts stressful and awesome.
The True Queen picks up with Ansa preparing to follow Thyra and her people into Kupari, to remove the person she believes to be a false queen from her throne and create a new home for the Krigere. It alternates between Ansa and her journey and Elli, who is struggling to lead the Kupari people as the land around them revolts, causing terrible earthquakes and, worse, weakening magic-wielders and causing some to lose control of their magic. Ansa must avoid falling under control of the evil elders who were responsible for the deaths of the Valtias before her while also harnessing her seemingly uncontrollable powers before they destroy her, and Elli must find a way to hold her people together and stop the earth itself from shaking apart so she can unite with her Valtia and, together, lead their people. I enjoyed parts of the third book in this trilogy, but I didn't feel the story was as compelling or as strong as the first two books. Much of the first two-thirds or so felt repetitive. The first two books were action-packed, while this third installment primarily featured Ansa wandering in the woods at the Kupari border and Elli wringing her hands about how to stop the earthquakes. I wish things had moved more quickly in the beginning so we could have had more action in the end. Overall, though, it was a great trilogy, and I enjoyed it!
From the cover:
"Now that Ansa knows she is the destined queen of Kupari, she is desperate to find a permanent home for her people, the Kriegere, in the Kupari lands. But as the small band of warriors crosses into the foreign territory, Ansa loses her fragile grip on her newly-acquired—and violent—fire and ice magic and puts everyone, including her love Thyra, in danger.
Inside the walls of Kupari, Elli maintains the facade that she is the magical queen, with her secret—that she has no magic at all—on the brink of exposure every day. But as she tries to prepare the citizens to protect themselves from another invasion, unrest spreads as wielders like her beloved Oskar begin to lose control of their powers.
As Kupari grows increasingly unstable, with the land literally crumbling beneath their feet, and a common enemy once again threatening everything, these two young women on a collision course with destiny must find a way to save the realm and their people from total destruction.In this epic conclusion to the Impostor Queen series, Sarah Fine’s sweeping tale of two fierce leaders imbued with unimaginable power and called to unthinkable sacrifice finally answers the question: who has the strength to be the True Queen?"
OMFG you guys, I posted my First Page Friday for this book and said it was weird reviewing this one since I hadn't reviewed the first two of the series, and then I went back to look through my old reviews, and I did review the first one! HA! How did I forget? And why did I review the first and decide to review the third, but I never reviewed the second? (Honestly...because I read the second book on a plane flying home from Italy, and that flight destroyed me.) I don't want to leave the second book out, so I'm going to turn this into a two-fer.
So...The Cursed Queen is the second book in this series, and it follows Ansa, who was stolen from her people by the Krigere, a warrior clan, as a small child. After a run-in with the Kupari's Valtia during a battle on the water, Ansa is imbued with the Valtia's powers over fire and ice. The young warrior believes herself to have been cursed by the Kupari leader, and, fearful of witchcraft, she struggles to hide and control her new powers. Gradually, she learns the true meaning of her powers, and as she gains knowledge about her past and future, she struggles to determine who she can trust. This book kept me on the edge of my seat. Ansa's journey was stressful and terrifying at times, and while I was pretty sure I knew who she could trust, there were definitely times where I, like Ansa, was terrified that she couldn't trust anyone. I also felt her powerlessness in the moments where she couldn't figure out how to control the fire and ice, and whew...this book was equal parts stressful and awesome.
The True Queen picks up with Ansa preparing to follow Thyra and her people into Kupari, to remove the person she believes to be a false queen from her throne and create a new home for the Krigere. It alternates between Ansa and her journey and Elli, who is struggling to lead the Kupari people as the land around them revolts, causing terrible earthquakes and, worse, weakening magic-wielders and causing some to lose control of their magic. Ansa must avoid falling under control of the evil elders who were responsible for the deaths of the Valtias before her while also harnessing her seemingly uncontrollable powers before they destroy her, and Elli must find a way to hold her people together and stop the earth itself from shaking apart so she can unite with her Valtia and, together, lead their people. I enjoyed parts of the third book in this trilogy, but I didn't feel the story was as compelling or as strong as the first two books. Much of the first two-thirds or so felt repetitive. The first two books were action-packed, while this third installment primarily featured Ansa wandering in the woods at the Kupari border and Elli wringing her hands about how to stop the earthquakes. I wish things had moved more quickly in the beginning so we could have had more action in the end. Overall, though, it was a great trilogy, and I enjoyed it!
Friday, December 13, 2019
#FirstPageFriday - Wayward Son
If you read my review for Carry On, then I'm sure it comes as no surprise how EFFIN PUMPED I am for the sequel, Wayward Son. Look for the review on December 25th. Ho ho ho!
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
The Fowl Twins - Eoin Colfer
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
From the cover:
"Criminal genius runs in the family...
Myles and Beckett are eleven-year-old twins, but the two boys are wildly different. Beckett is blonde, messy and sulks whenever he has to wear clothes. Myles is fanatically neat, he has an IQ of 170, and he wears a fresh suit every day like his older brother, Artemis Fowl.
Perhaps you have heard of the Fowl family and their adventures?
This Fowl adventure is filled with the most unusual of individuals: an immortal duke, a miniature troll, a nunterrogator and a Police Specialist that's 42% elf. And of course, the Fowl twins - one a certified genius with a criminal leaning, and the other possessing an unusual talent that has not been fully explored... yet!
Here begins the second documented cycle of Fowl Adventures."
From the cover:
"Criminal genius runs in the family...
Myles and Beckett are eleven-year-old twins, but the two boys are wildly different. Beckett is blonde, messy and sulks whenever he has to wear clothes. Myles is fanatically neat, he has an IQ of 170, and he wears a fresh suit every day like his older brother, Artemis Fowl.
Perhaps you have heard of the Fowl family and their adventures?
This Fowl adventure is filled with the most unusual of individuals: an immortal duke, a miniature troll, a nunterrogator and a Police Specialist that's 42% elf. And of course, the Fowl twins - one a certified genius with a criminal leaning, and the other possessing an unusual talent that has not been fully explored... yet!
Here begins the second documented cycle of Fowl Adventures."
Aw yes, I missed that Artemis Fowl voice, and it is back! I was trying to figure out how to summarize the book, and I guess the tl;dr version is this: "Myles and Beckett, along with a toy troll and a Pixel, are kidnapped by a nun while being stalked by a 150-year-old man obsessed with living forever, then spend the rest of the book trying to get home." It sounds simplistic, but I promise...it's fantastic. There are references to the future sprinkled throughout that I enjoyed (and look forward to hopefully reading more about in future books!), and my one big wish is that there was like 25% more Beckett. Beckett is my favorite. Myles, a close second, is even more snarky than his older brother, and I am here for it. The only character I was iffy about was Jeronima, mostly because her Spanglish was weird and sometimes...not Spanish? Granted, I am by no means fluent, but I'm pretty sure there was some French and Italian mixed in there, which was odd. Other than that, though, it's a great adventure and a fun read!
Friday, December 6, 2019
#FirstPageFriday - The True Queen
I feel a little weird about this one, since I didn't review the first two books in the trilogy, but this week's First Page Friday is the conclusion of Sarah Fine's trilogy, The True Queen. Come back December 18th for the review! I'll do my best to keep it spoiler-free for anyone who hasn't read the trilogy yet. 😬
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Look Both Ways - Jason Reynolds
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
From the cover:
"This story was going to begin like all the best stories. With a school bus falling from the sky. But no one saw it happen. They were all too busy—
Talking about boogers.
Stealing pocket change.
Skateboarding.
Wiping out.
Braving up.
Executing complicated handshakes.
Planning an escape.
Making jokes.
Lotioning up.
Finding comfort.
But mostly, too busy walking home.
Jason Reynolds conjures ten tales (one per block) about what happens after the dismissal bell rings, and brilliantly weaves them into one wickedly funny, piercingly poignant look at the detours we face on the walk home, and in life."
From the cover:
"This story was going to begin like all the best stories. With a school bus falling from the sky. But no one saw it happen. They were all too busy—
Talking about boogers.
Stealing pocket change.
Skateboarding.
Wiping out.
Braving up.
Executing complicated handshakes.
Planning an escape.
Making jokes.
Lotioning up.
Finding comfort.
But mostly, too busy walking home.
Jason Reynolds conjures ten tales (one per block) about what happens after the dismissal bell rings, and brilliantly weaves them into one wickedly funny, piercingly poignant look at the detours we face on the walk home, and in life."
Jason Reynolds knows how to tell a story that tugs at your heart strings! His characters and their friendships are pure in a way that only childhood friendships can be, and the stories from each block weave together so beautifully. Of course not everything is sunshine and rainbows, and the booger talk in the first chapter genuinely grossed me out, but the genuine love and affection in this book jumps off the page, and it made it impossible for me to not also fall in love with each of the characters. I am in awe that Jason Reynolds can generate characters who feel so alive in just one chapter. Honestly, if reading this book doesn't make you feel things, I'm not sure I want to know you.
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