Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Top Ten: Authors on My Auto-Buy List

**Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish Top Ten Tuesday is a countdown spotlighting, well, anything bookish!**

Top Ten Five Authors on My Auto-Buy List:

1. Laini Taylor: I am in love with Laini Taylor's masterful prose; she can whisk me away to any magical world and I wouldn't mind in the slightest. Keep in mind, I've only read Daughter of Smoke and Bone by this author, but I am absolutely in love with her dynamic characters and creative world-building skills, any and everything Laini Taylor is fine by me.

2. Wendy Higgins:  Kaidan from Sweet Evil, anyone? Thought so, enough said there. Seriously though, this author wowed me with her début, so much so that my copy of Sweet Peril is already on pre-order. Yup, you know you've made it when you aren't just "auto-buy" worthy, but pre-order auto-buy worthy! 

3. Tahereh Mafi: I'm still reeling from how good Unravel Me is, pretty sure I will buy anything this woman writes! Her style of prose is very different, what with the slashes through almost every second word and semi-free verse, but a good different to be sure. I need that last book in the series and when it releases, it'll be an immediate buy, if not pre-order. Also, Warner. I have to support Warner! 

4. Stephanie Perkins: Because she gave me Anna and the French Kiss! I somewhat devoted to her writing for life. That book was a perfect milkshake of romance, contemporary and comedy; give me writing by Stephanie Perkins and I wouldn't mind a bit!


5. Susan Ee: I am still waiting for the next book in the Penryn and the End of Days series, Angelfall #2. I loved the first book, and cannot wait for the second, so I guess that technically that makes Ee an auto-buy author since I need the next book so badly.


What books would you drop all others to buy??
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Monday, February 25, 2013

My Favorite Mistake by Chelsea M. Cameron


My Favorite Mistake by Chelsea M. Cameron
My rating: 1 of 5 genies
Published: September 29, 2012
Pages: 416
Publisher: Createspace
Source: Purchased
Format: eBook
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Goodreads Summary

Taylor Caldwell can't decide if she wants to kiss her new college roommate or punch him.

On the one hand, Hunter Zaccadelli is a handsome, blue-eyed bundle of charm. On the other, he's a tattooed, guitar-playing bundle of bad boy. Maybe that's why Taylor's afraid of falling in love with him, or anyone else. She doesn't want to get burned, and even though her other roommates adore him, she wants him gone before it's too late.

Hunter himself has been been burned before, but the fact that Taylor calls him out on his crap and has the sexiest laugh ever make him decide maybe love isn't a lost cause. They make a bet: if she can convince him she truly loves or hates him, he'll leave the apartment--and leave her alone. The problem is, the more time they spend together, the less she hates him, and the more she moves toward love.

But when the man who holds the key to Taylor's fear of giving up her heart resurfaces and threatens to wreck everything, she has to decide: trust Hunter with her greatest secret, or do everything in her power to win that bet and drive him away forever.

My Review

This book was not what I expected. The premise of My Favorite Mistake promises a refreshing New Adult contemporary romance, a read that I found myself anticipating. Sadly, I couldn't even make myself finish reading the whole thing. There are a number of emotions associated with this read for me: anger, disappointment, but ultimately, exhaustion, just to name a few.

I got nothing out of reading this, and while I could very well rage about the poor characterization, lack of plot, and endless clichés present in this book, I am done wasting any more of my energy here. In fact, it is most definitely not my favorite mistake. I'll give you the dirty, but my anger is spent. Kind of.

description
Me neither, buddy.

The Bad.

Have you ever disliked a character so much that a whole book seems to be ruined just because of him/her? If so then you might know how I feel, and maybe where I'm coming from, when I say that Taylor - the female protagonist - completely ruined this book for me. She is just such an unlikable character! For starters, she spends the majority of the book's first quarter sulking around, whining that she ended up with Hunter as a roommate even though the living space at their college IS coed. She and two other rommates, Darah and Renee needed a fourth person and put up a vacancy. Hunter applied, got the spot through the officiates at housing, and one painfully long story short, Taylor flips the shiz out.

She can't handle that the guy flirts with her, even though he flirted with both Darah and Renee two filler characters and neither of them took it nearly as badly as she did. To my dismay, the first couple chapters were spent watching Taylor fight tooth and nail to reverse the aforementioned living arrangement. She lets the world know of her displeasure, and it is during one particularly contrived phone conversation with her mother that I realized things would get a lot worse before they got better.

It is my experience that in life, there are many people who never hear the truth, no cold hard facts plain and simple, from anyone, and Taylor struck me as being of this variety. Mainly because she has a problem, she lashes out when things don't go her way, and instead of people telling her to get her act together, they make stupid freaking allowances.

description
Sorry, Mary, it seems like everybody is ill here.

You get to know pretty quickly that she hates a lot of things: hates that Hunter flirts with her, she hates that he ended up in their coed dorm, and basically hates that he's a guy. Due to an incident in the past, Taylor is played off as this damaged girl with "issues" and her less than stellar past is supposed to justify this girl's constant griping. Because she's damaged, right? Who hates on damaged characters?

description
Who wouldn't hate!? She complains about everything.

A lot of the time it was as though excuses were ALWAYS being made for Taylor. Upon their first meeting, she manages to punch Hunter in the face, a true display of totally volatile and over-the-top behaviour. Yet, we are to accept this as part of her nature: oh nuh uh, Taylor doesn't put up with no shit, naw girl. In reality, we are to believe that it is all Hunter's fault that she felt threatened. Taylor was protecting herself. The only problem in this brilliant theory? Even a donkey missing half its brain could put together that there wasn't any real danger to be had from Hunter. If he was going to try something, it would have been during their first night or week living together. I mean why wait, right?

He is incredibly built and I am expected to believe that if indeed he was a rapist he would not have jumped at the chance to pounce on Taylor, because? There's logic missing in that, Cameron. Yes, Hunter is an ass at times, making sexual references and flirting immediately with near-strangers does rank up on the douche scale of existence, but he isn't a bad guy. While his actions weren't exactly shining examples of gentlemanly conduct, Taylor had absolutely no right hitting him.

He takes it well, laughs the incident off, but it did made me sick how double standard it all was. Their situation, if reversed, would have left Hunter riding in the back of a secure van/car headed to the nearest police station for laying hands on Taylor. The girl wouldn't have even blinked before calling the cops, but somehow it is justifiable that she takes out her aggression on him, and he's supposed to be okay with it? She throws tantrums and explodes like an irresponsible child, but everyone just tip-toes around her, giving her space because otherwise that bitch will find you, and then it'll all go to hell.

description
*sigh* He never saw it coming.*

I refuse to make any excuses for her, and by 35% into the book I just wanted out. You should know now that I most definitely did not finish this book my heart couldn't take it even though I spent money on it Darn it! I tried to get to the 50% mark before calling it quits, but yeah, that didn't happen.

By the time I finally gave up, I just couldn't force myself to read any more. I should have needed to read the story, wanted to engage with characters because good books are supposed to draw you in. Well, My Favorite Mistake did the exact opposite and pushed me far away. I can see where Cameron was going with the storyline: damaged girl meets damaged boy, she can't trust/let people in probably because she is too busy punching and abusing them, and neither can he, but the boy changes her. They fix each other? Aw, true wuv! The end. Someone please kill me now.

Final Thoughts

No. Just no. My Favorite Mistake lacks in several areas, the want most apparent in its poor characterization and weak story structure. Furthermore, I get that this is a college based story, New Adult means a higher level of sensuality and cussing of some sort, but would it kill these characters to actually speak intelligently? For once, without the meaningless cursing? The way they go about spouting profanities every second word really made me cringe. I respect an individual's right to speech, heck cursing is fun sometimes, but there is a problem when all the characters talk like they might have been recently displaced from the great Seven Seas. I especially hated God's name and "Jesus" being flung around. I've read New Adult, and loved it before, but never was the language so deplorable.

So there you have it. This book has me talking like my grandmother, "deplorable," really? and I leave ultimately disappointed. The angry girl meets "perfect boy" set-up didn't work out for me. Taylor is too obnoxious and full of it, and Hunter never felt real. He's too perfect, a great singer, cook, and accomplished guitarist, along with other things. I imagine that if My Favorite Mistake had even an ounce of his supposed brilliance, it would be a better book, and this, a very different review.

.5/5 genies: Utterly irredeemable, there was not a thing I liked about this book, a total miss.




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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday (7) : The Chaos of Stars

*Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill@Breaking the Spine and is a weekly meme allowing for bloggers to connect and share their most anticipated reads.*

Hey guys!

This week I'm waiting on...

The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White
Publishing: September 10th, 2013
Pages: 352
Genre: YA, Mythology, Paranormal, Fantasy
Publisher: HarperTeen


Goodreads Summary

Isadora’s family is seriously screwed up.

Of course, as the human daughter of Egyptian gods, that pretty much comes with the territory. She’s also stuck with parents who barely notice her, and a house full of relatives who can’t be bothered to remember her name. After all, they are going to be around forever—and she’s a mere mortal.

Isadora’s sick of living a life where she’s only worthy of a passing glance, and when she has the chance to move to San Diego with her brother, she jumps on it. But Isadora’s quickly finding that a “normal” life comes with plenty of its own epic complications—and that there’s no such thing as a clean break when it comes to family. Much as she wants to leave her past behind, she can’t shake the ominous dreams that foretell destruction for her entire family. When it turns out there may be truth in her nightmares, Isadora has to decide whether she can abandon her divine heritage after all.


What are you waiting on?? I love the cover, and when the awesome folks at Cuddlebuggery shared it earlier this week I knew I was 100% sold. This book was on my wishlist prior, but I had no idea a cover had been released :) Out of all the books I am dying to read this year, The Chaos of Stars  is most definitely near the top of that list. 

I'm interested to know what you think, what books are you dying to read? Share in the comments below, Loves.

Until next time, take care!

XX,


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Sunday, February 17, 2013

Stacking the Shelves (10)

**"Stacking the Shelves" is run by Tynga @ Tynga's Book Reviews and I'm linking up with some of the great books I found this week.**


Hey Lovelies! 

This post will not be long as I just have a brief Stacking the Shelves to share this week: Just One Day by Gayle Forman and The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd. 



If you're thinking, "she got instagram photos up!" then you are absolutely correct! I needed to try it again and found out that g+ works really well in transferring the uploads from my phone :) Earlier this week, I bought Just One Day and The Madman's Daughter from my local Chapters, and with a little help from a pearl necklace of mine, they were ready to share ;) I have heard really great things about both books and am pumped to read them! 

What did you get this week? Share in the comments below :)

XX




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Sunday, February 10, 2013

Stacking The Shelves (9)

**"Stacking the Shelves" is run by Tynga @ Tynga's Book Reviews and I'm linking up with some of the great books I found this week.**

Hey Lovies,

Today I thought I would get back in the swing of things by posting quickly my latest find of the week, I've been waiting for it for months and practically swooned at the sight of this book. Drum roll, please!

Da, dum, da, dum!!

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi Like you couldn't read, right?

This book is gorgeous, and fifty pages into the read, totally worth the wait! If you've noticed that the picture isn't my usual instagram photo, that is because I have kind of given up on trying to post actual photos unto the blog. Mainly because it takes forever, and I'm working on it, but simply posting the standard image is easier. If you would rather I posted them la original anyway, then let me know in the comments below. Otherwise, I'm sticking to instagramming the actual pics and uploading basic covers here, sorry loves! 

You can find my pic of Tookie snuggling up with my copy of *Unravel Me here

Other Finds This Week:



RavenCrewelThomas and January, and Here were all *purchased :) Make sure to follow me for more Stacking the Shelves and picture updates, stay awesome.

What books did you get this week? You know you've got to share them!

XX,


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Saturday, February 9, 2013

Cover Reveal: Rebel Spring


Hey Loves,

So I know for the past few months I haven't exactly been the best blogger in terms of memes, but I am trying to ease myself back into doing them, focussing mostly on the ones which interest me. I love beautiful covers and stumbled upon this one this week...

Rebel Spring (Falling Kingdoms #2) by Morgan Rhodes
Expected Release: December 3, 2013
Publisher: Razorbill
Genre: Fantasy, YA, Romance, Adventure
Pages (estimated): 432
Goodreads Summary

Auranos has been conquered and the three kingdoms — Auranos, Limeros, and Paelsia — are now unwillingly united as one country called Mytica. But alluring, dangerous magic still beckons, and with it the chance to rule not just Mytica, but the world...

CLEO is now a prisoner in her own palace, forced to be an ambassador for Mytica as the evil King Gaius lies to her people

MAGNUS stands to eventually inherit the new kingdom but is still obsessed with his feelings for his adopted sister Lucia

LUCIA is haunted by the outcome of the breathtaking display of magic that allowed her father to capture the kingdoms

JONAS watches at the palace gates, a troop of rebels behind him, waiting for him to tell them how he plans to overtake King Gaius

When Gaius announces that a road is to be built into the Forbidden Mountains, formally linking all of Mytica together, he sets off a chain of events that will forever change the face of this land. Because Gaius is not just burrowing into a pile of rock. He’s tunneling directly into the Watchers’ Sanctuary. And his actions will have cosmic consequences.

Praise for Falling Kingdoms

"[It] will gut you emotionally...make you ache, cry, and beg for the sequel as you turn the last page. I absolutely loved it.” —Julie Kagawa, New York Times bestselling author of The Iron Queen

"This triple-layered tale of bloodshed, heartbreak, and tangled court intrigue kept me turning pages very late into the night.”—Lesley Livingston, author of Wondrous Strange and Starling

"From an opening dripping with blood, magic, and betrayal through complex interweaving plots detailing treachery, deceit, and forbidden love, this novel...will immediately engage readers and keep them intrigued.” —Booklist


It sounds good, right? I haven't read Falling Kingdoms yet, but the consensus among most of my blogging friends seems to be that it is a book well worth reading! I have my fingers crossed for this series, it has loads of potential, and I see it doing well for itself. Have you read Falling Kingdoms, excited for Rebel Spring?

Let me know. Take care!

XX,





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Friday, February 8, 2013

Hey Guys, Meet Tookie!

Hey Guys!

Today I thought I would introduce you - formally - to someone pretty special. I talk about her a lot and for the past year and a bit, she's been the love of my life. Sort of. If you count my fictional boyfriends, then maybe not. Meet Tookie! I got her for my 18th birthday a year back and she's been a loyal eReader ever since, the very best a girl could ask for. Now I know that she isn't fancy shiz, she doesn't glow in the dark or anything, but she's sure as hell special to me! Keep in mind, she is a hard one to keep quiet.

**Disclosure: The captions are entirely Tookie-Peregrine Fisher's doing, a.k.a. Tookie.**

Awe, Yeah! I look so GOOD.

The Introduction
**I apologize for her language!**

Me: Say Hi, Tookie.
Tookie (waving): What up, Gangsters?
Me: Ugh. I told you, you've got zero swag!
Tookie (shrugging): Yeah. I try, though.
Me (hugging Tookie): I know, hun. I know.
Tookie: What the hell? Homie, that is too close for comfort. Ain't nobody got time for that!
Me: I thought I would introduce you to everyone, since you got a new cover today. You look so pretty now!
Tookie: Lazy bum. I was naked for too long!
Me (shakes head): You had a case, dear, it was just less flashy than this one.
Tookie: Woman, I was a fashion disgrace, hence why my previous cover will not be shown. Hide your kids, hide your wife.
Me (laughs): I don't think you mean that.
Tookie (serious): Does Daemon Black make the sun look like melted ice cream? Do Warner and Akiva's level of intensity make the rest look like little Marmalade punks?
Me (shakes head): Dang. I guess someone was paying attention.
Tookie (smugly): Damn straight!
Me: Tookie-Peregrine Fisher, mind your language!
Tookie: No can't do, J-thang. Don't change me, sucka. I is how I is. Okay, just kidding, I speak English! (It's in my programming), but you still can't change me.
Me (exasperatedly): I know, trust me, I've tried.
Tookie (gasps): Oh hell no. WHAT WAS THAT?!?
Me (nervously): Nothing, hun. Oh, I guess that's all we have time for. Do you want to say anything else to the readers before you leave?
Tookie (pumps fist): Yeah. Stay real, guys, fly your pimp flags high and--
Me (quickly puts her away): I guess that's all we have time for, say bye, Tookie!
Tookie (muffled): I will get eReader protective services on your sorry--

-------FIN---------

*Sigh* I told you she could be a handful. Hopefully y'all enjoyed meeting her, I really do love my little Reader to bits. Here is the case we ended up getting for her, I love that it's a nice pretty torques green and that the lettering is engraved in gold. The Wuthering Heights cover is also an excellent touch.
It's about time I got some proper clothing!


Tookie Facts:

- She has about 681 items, and counting. I stock her up whenever I can and she's there for me when the world is not nearly as interesting. 

- She's a year old, and turned one last December.

- She loves television. Could you tell?

- She has mad crushes on Daemon and Kaidan from the YA universe and will kill me 20 different ways for telling you. Say what?

- Her favourite thing to do is to be read. Like for reals, this girl loves being held. 

- She likes long walks on the beach while sipping diet pepsi and munching on Pizza. Kidding! She'd much rather prefer coke :P


And that is basically it. I hope you guys enjoyed this post, and at least now many of you will know who I'm referring to when I say "Tookie." *Grins* Do you have an eReader of your own? Are they nearly as crazy? I would love to hear about it!

Take care Lovies,

XX


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Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi

Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi
My rating: 5 of 5 genies
Published: October 2, 2012
Genre: Science-Fiction, Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy
Pages: 103
Publisher: Harper
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Goodreads Summary

Perfect for the fans of Shatter Me who are desperately awaiting the release of Unravel Me, this novella-length digital original will bridge the gap between these two novels from the perspective of the villain we all love to hate, Warner, the ruthless leader of Sector 45.

In Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me, Juliette escaped from The Reestablishment by seducing Warner—and then putting a bullet in his shoulder. But as she’ll learn in Destroy Me, Warner is not that easy to get rid of. . .

Back at the base and recovering from his near-fatal wound, Warner must do everything in his power to keep his soldiers in check and suppress any mention of a rebellion in the sector. Still as obsessed with Juliette as ever, his first priority is to find her, bring her back, and dispose of Adam and Kenji, the two traitors who helped her escape. But when Warner’s father, The Supreme Commander of The Reestablishment, arrives to correct his son’s mistakes, it’s clear that he has much different plans for Juliette. Plans Warner simply cannot allow.

Set after Shatter Me and before its forthcoming sequel, Unravel Me, Destroy Me is a novella told from the perspective of Warner, the ruthless leader of Sector 45.


The Review

How do you go from being on one fictional YA "Team" to the other opposing group, due to the reading of one ebook novella? Well, when the author of said novella writes in a way that makes your heart melt into a million little puddles of slush, drawing up fierce feelings of sympathy and empathy for a character you were sure you hated, then the rest is pretty much self-explanatory.

Confession #1: I ached for him. Never in a million years would I have said this otherwise, but Destroy Me made me fall in love with Warner. And Juliette should love him, too.

description
Does this constitute as blasphemy, Team Adam peeps? If so, SorryNotSorry.

Yes, I said it! I said it. Read the book and you will agree with me completely, if not somehow in part.

Confession #2: Warner is not who we thought he was. He is so much more, and I am positively in love thrilled that this ebook gave him a chance to shine, the opportunity to connect with readers and be more human. I really blame it all on Mafi. I'm in awe of her right now; she turned out to be a sneaky one, her technique in handling this particular YA love triangle completely unexpected and clever. In the beginning, she made Warner jaded and presumably the cold evil commander. She essentially pulled the wool over thousands of reader's eyes, only to rip away at the illusion by releasing this little masterpiece. Did I mention, Destroy Me released only a few months before Unravel Me? Yeah, this definitely changes things up a bit.

I'm not going to give it all away, but HINT, HINT, Warner has a heart!

AND EMOTIONS. Oh my GOSH, his feelings for Juliette really are much stronger than I'd have ever guessed. Lust, desire, or kinship, I would have maybe thought of, but never the burning need projected in this book. I got the impression that Juliette and him are two sides of the same coin, and together, they could make each other whole. Sound a little sappy? Yeah, you haven't seen Warner the way he's written here. He is tortured, beaten and so utterly in love with Juliette that it makes my heart ache.

His desperation is felt more strongly closer to the end, and the protective layer Warner keeps about himself is stripped away by the journal he finds belonging to Juliette; it disarms him completely. He is just a boy, one who had to grow up too quickly, lives under the imposing and abusive shadow of his father, and has a world of responsibilities thrust on his shoulders. By the time these developments were made, all bets were off, I was SOLD.

description


I don't know how Mafi did it. I was so strong in my "Team Adam" stance come the conclusion of Shatter Me, and there was very little doubt in my mind that ADAM was who Juliette needed to end up with. He was good for her, I still think so, but Adam seems like a boy compared to Warner. I don't think he ever got her, not the way Warner does. And yes he messed up the first time around, but given a second chance there is no doubt in my mind that Warner would cherish her more than anything else in his life.

On the contrary, Adam and Juliette have this strong haze of desire currently constituting as love that I think will definitely wear off. She needs someone who's been through what she has, all the feelings of desperation and loss, being left alone in that asylum...I don't think Adam could properly help her through that, not the way that Warner could. So consider it done, I am officially a hopper, friends!

See Judith.

See Judith hop.

See Judith hop over to Team Warner.



Oh, snap!

And, Warner? Baby, I have high hopes for you. I'm hoping that you Destroy Adam, I mean, prove yourself just as worthy in the next book.

description
Don't let me down, son!

Confession #3: I NEED Unravel Me. I will take down anyone standing in my way, but hopefully it will not come to that. You hear me, Mr. Mail Man? I hope mine is delivered on time! It should be here next week and I can hardly wait. As a verdict, I recommend all fans of Shatter Me to read this ebook, it will blow you away and add even more understanding to a very multi-faceted, dynamic character.



This book completely blew me away. I recommend it a thousand times over, go and find your copy NOW.







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Friday, February 1, 2013

Splintered by A.G. Howard

Splintered by A.G. Howard
My rating: 2 of 5 genies
Published: January 1, 2013
Genre: Fantasy, YA, Romance
Pages: 371
Publisher: Amulet Books
Format: Hardback
Source: Purchased
Goodreads Summary

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

My Review


Cover: 4/5
Characters: 1/5
Plot: 1/5
Setting: 4/5
Overall: 2/5

** Technically, or according to my botched-up rating system, this book should be more around 3.25 rating-wise, but because it is a totally inaccurate representation of how I feel right now, I am going over its head.**

description

You mad bro? Ha.

Long story short, I could not finish this book. Regard this as a DNF Review and take my word with the customary grain of salt, but Splintered did not work for me. I think I went in expecting my mind to be blown, you know rainbow unicorn kisses and all that shiz.

*Sigh* If only life were magical...

description

Where's my unicorn?

I'm sorry to say, but it wasn't there for me. The magic, I mean. Ally isn't the protagonist I thought she would be, not kick-ass at all, and the love interest is compared to her FATHER so kill me now. Maybe it's because characters and romance in any book are such HUGE factors for me; if the romance is some limp dead thing the author is constantly trying to resuscitate throughout the novel, I will not finish the book. If the characters just trudge around being unspectacular, I will not finish the book. If I think that there are other books I could be enjoying instead of the book in question...well, I think you guessed where this is going.

I still feel confused, though, that I didn't like it. Most people love the book and I'm like that one weird person in all the world who doesn't like chocolate. Somebody hold me?

description

Damnit! This is too depressing.

What I liked

The world-building is beautiful, and A.G. Howard is absolutely brilliant in the way she twists one of my all-time favourite children's books into a place more frightening and mystical than I could have ever imagined. I think my mouth gaped WIDE at what she was doing to the already insane environment of Wonderland, its Rabid White, Octobenus...everything. This author can write, and I certainly will look at other books by her in the future. She has a gift, and I can't wait to see her write more.

The book itself is also really pretty! With a splendid cover and great typography, there isn't much not to love by way of presentation. This isn't a purchase I regret either because Splintered was a reasonable buy and makes my bookshelf look good. Although, I would recommend you lend it from a library/friend if you're short on cash and aren't 100% sold that it's for you.

All in all, Splintered gives a refreshing spin on the whole Alice in Wonderland story. The "curse" is a great touch, and Howard making Alice too young at the time to fully understand/cope with the gruesome reality of the land really adds a to my perception of Alice as a whole. This book offered a great escape, even though it didn't work for me.

But then Again...

The Jeb crap - his imposition in Ally's life, interfering with her dreams due to selfish motives - and the "skater girl" crap, which grew patronizing after a while, all annoyed me. Like I said, him being compared to her dad - and having lunch with him to discuss her future - did not help things.

Unfortunately, I couldn't connect with the main characters. I like Ally's mom, she sacrifices so much for her family, and her dad is like the best YA dad of 2013 so far, but those two and Morpheus were the only characters I saw myself warming up to. In my mind, Jeb looks like a very shaggy St. Bernard with all his overgrown hair, and I wasn't feeling his "bad-boy" vibe. I've seen better.

Overall

Splintered is a creative re-imagining of a beloved classic with fresh, gruesome twists that will enthral many readers; I'm just disappointed it didn't entertain me.


genies: I could have, and SHOULD have, liked this book. Unfortunately, because of reasons already covered above, I didn't.



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The Truth And Nothing BUT...

Going by FTC guidelines, allow me to point out that all the novels reviewed on this blog were either bought by me, or given by an author or publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Those books received from Authors and Publishers will be stated clearly as such, as will the ones purchased by myself. There is no shady business going on; no coercion, bribery or compensation has or will ever be received in exchange for any reviews. These thoughts are mine, wacky as they may be, and my honest opinion is all you can truly expect. Still reading? You should be off checking out those awesome reviews ;)