Friday 31 August 2012

Review: The Kill Order - James Dashner

The Kill Order (Maze Runner, #0.5)
Title: The Kill Order
Author: James Dashner
Series: (Prequel) The Maze Runner Trilogy
Publisher: Delacorte Books
Release Date: 14 August 2012
Date Read: August 2012
Rating: 

The Kill Order is the much anticipated prequel to the Maze Runner trilogy.

This novel takes place thirteen years prior the time initial time setting of the trilogy. This is a time before Thomas and the Gladers, before WICKED was even created. The sun flares struck the earth and mankind succumb to a deadly disease.

We follow a new set of characters; Mark, Alec and a group of teenagers, who were all there when the sun flares struck. It is a constant battle for survival in the desolate landscape left behind by the sun flares. But they've managed to build a settlement, one of the few places left on earth where something that resembles a normal life can be established.

But one day, a Berg flies in on their settlement from nowhere, shooting darts at people, many of whom died immediately. Others took days to die, some weeks. They soon realize that the darts contained a virus designed to kill everyone. But the virus is evolving. Mark, Alec, Lana along with a few other survivors set out to find the origin of the horrific Berg. They must find a cure to the virus.

I thought The Kill Order would be about Thomas, Teresa, WICKED and the creation of the Glade. I thought we'd get to see Newt, Minho even Alby before their memories got wiped. The only mention of the characters we were all familiar with was at the prologue, highlighting the moments before Thomas entered the elevator that would soon take him to the Glade. To be honest, I was a lot more interested in what exactly Thomas' parts were in WICKED, in the creation of the Glade. Why was he and Teresa so important? It's not like he was the only one immune to the Flare.

Instead, Dashner brings us the story of the origins of the Flare, the disease that started it all. New characters are introduced where Mark and Alec are the main characters. Mark barely has any personality and Alec is a retired military man, whose job is fight and keep them alive. Mark has a love interest, Trina, that he has to saveut their relationship wasn't established well enough for me to feel sympathy over these separated 'lovers'. I didn't feel a connection with Mark. Sure, I wanted him to survive but there is that gnawing feeling that he isn't going to survive this, in the end. There was honestly no hope in this book, for the reader and even the characters themselves. Mark didn't even believe himself that he was going to survive this new set of unfortunate events.

The Kill Order had complete lack of character development. There was no emotion. It was mindless action, action, action. They were well-written action scenes meant to keep the readers on their toes, flipping page after page determined to finish the book. But the thing was that it was all action. If the action scenes had nothing to contrast, then it's going to fall flat. I found myself glazing over the action scenes because it was too much and after a while it got boring.

The 'humour' that was supposed to be amusing and provide comedic relief, failed. I didn't even realize the characters cracked a joke until others laughed.


It's hard not to be disappointed when the trilogy had so much promise for a prequel and Dashner chose to do the Flares. I hope he takes another stab at this, and he might since there is that thirteen year gap between this book and the Maze Runner.

Library Loot (1)



Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.
I used to use the In My Mailbox meme, but since all the books I get are from the library, I figured Library Loot was more appropriate.

This week, I checked out:
  • The Girl Who Circumnavigated the Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making - Catherynne M. Valente; with illustrations by Ana Juan
  • Stolen - Lucy Christopher
  • Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo
  • The Kill Order - James Dashner
  • Above - Leah Bobet
  • Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
  • The Lost Hero - Rick Riordan
  • The Moon Dwellers - David Estes
  • Peter and the Starcatchers - Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson; illustrations by Greg Call
  • The Rise of Nine - Pittacus Lore
  • The Iron Daughter - Julie Kagawa
  • The Immortal Rules - Julie Kagawa
Look at all these titles! They have really varied genres and I'm going to have fun. I've got a lot to go through but now is not really the best time for all these books to come. My mock exams are coming up. I need to revise. Hopefully I finish all of them.

Wednesday 29 August 2012

Top Ten Tuesday (1)

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the girls over at The Broke and The Bookish. This meme feature features a different theme every week, showcasing book-related lists. And hey, who doesn't love a good list?

This week's Top Ten:
Bookish Confessions

1. I can not resist the smell of old books' pages, especially if the pages are yellowy and fragile. That's why I love stopping by second hand book stores. The whole place smells like old books!

2. I judge books by their covers. I don't even bother reading the synopsis. If the cover looks awesome, then I'll read it. If it looks horrible, then I won't. I always feel slightly ashamed whenever I do it, but I'm not going to stop. I didn't always base my choices on covers. It was because of this book I read - Thirteenth Child. The cover wasn't the best but the synopsis really captured me. I started it out, expecting to have this magical experience. Turned out, it was one of the most boring books I've ever read. It was so slow and the characters were ordinary at best. The climax literally happened at the last ten pages of the book, and the term 'climax' is used very, very loosely here. The synopsis was more like a summary than anything else. Besides, I've discovered that it's much more fun delving into a book clueless about anything. They reveal way too much in the synopsis. The inciting incident in the story becomes a twist and it's just fun.

3. I haven't read Lord of the Rings. I tried out The Hobbit, but that bored me stiff. I'm pretty sure I ended up skimming a quarter of the whole book. I'm sorry, but I just couldn't get into it. Maybe next time...

4. I had a Twilight phase. Along with half of the teenage girls population, I was completely obsessed with Twilight at the height of its popularity. I bawled my eyes out in New Moon when Edward left Bella, and remember that month thing Stephanie Meyer did? The one where she had like three pages blank except for the month's names to express the passage of time and agony Bella felt when Edward left her. Yeah, that thing. I was crying at that part as well. I even read Midnight Sun and cursed Meyer when she decided not to continue it. I repeat, it was a phase. I don't feel the same way about Twilight any more but I can't deny the good times I had reading the saga.

5. I feel like books that my school assign me to read are automatically boring and stupid. This year, we studied Montana 1948 by Larry Watson and it wasn't even that. The fact that I'm forced to read this piece of work just makes me want to hate it. Maybe it's because I'm just sick of talking about the book day after day. And with people who don't even give a damn about literature. I love a good book discussion but if it's just three people participating, then it's just no fun.

6. I can barely remember what happened in books I've finished reading, especially if I didn't read it this year. It's really embarrassing actually because I only remember liking a certain book but if you ask me what the main character's name is, I wouldn't be able to tell you (Nineteen Minutes). I have to reread a bunch of books. This is really cumbersome when the book is from a series and I can't even remember what happened in the first book (The Lost Hero). I wasn't really making a conscious effort to become an active reader then. Reading was just a hobby to me, and it was just fun. It still is but when I found out about Goodreads, I discovered discussions, quizzes, threads, basically the book-lovers' community. It became more than a hobby and I guess I started paying more attention to what I'm reading. 

7. I don't hesitate to DNF a book anymore. I used to not even be able to entertain the idea of not finishing a book, especially if it's read for pleasure. No matter how much I'm enjoying the book, I used to force myself to finish it. But now, I'm not even going to bother. If it's slow at the beginning, or the main character is annoying, or the writing is just bad, then I'm not going to waste my time trudging through it. There are better books out there and my TBR pile is ridiculously long. I'm going to spend my time reading something I enjoy.
This is not to say I drop a book whenever I feel like it. I only DNF when it's reallly bad and I don't even care what happens anymore.

8. I'm scared of poetry. I don't understand it. It confuses me. I don't like that I don't understand it and that it confuses me.

9. Whenever I read a book out loud, I end up putting an English accent. I don't know why. It's not on purpose, I swear.

10. I borrowed a paperback from my friend once, and I accidentally creased the cover. (Gasp! I know, I'm sorry) I got really scared and didn't admit to doing it. I pretended I got it that way- it was plausible because there were two people before me who borrowed it from her- but I don't think she bought it.


This was a lot harder than I originally thought. I realize it's not Tuesday anymore, but there was some confusion about the time zone.

Saturday 25 August 2012

Review: Anna and the French Kiss - Stephanie Perkins

Anna and the French Kiss
Title: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Publisher: Dutton
Release Date: 02 December 2010
Date Read: August 2012
Rating: ★★

I need my dosage of chick-lit every now and then, but I'm usually hesitant to venture into this genre. Most are just cheesy and unrealistic. But Anna and the French Kiss was neither cheesy nor unrealistic.

It was an adorable, easy, light read filled with youthful innocence. Oh, to be a teenager... in France!

Anna's life is uprooted when her father sends her to a boarding school in France for her senior year. She has to leave everything behind- her best friend, her family, a great job and a budding relationship with her crush- and start anew in a place where she knows no one, with an unfamiliar environment, culture and language.

But things start to look up when she makes friends with a group of fun people- Meredith, Rashmi, Josh and St Clair. Anna takes hold of her opportunities; discovering new interests and entertaining old ones, learning French culture, enjoying the thrill of a first love and just being a teenager.

Anna was kind of annoying at the beginning. She kept on complaining and whining and whinging about going to live in France. I know it's different and unfamiliar and change is scary but IT'S FRANCE! I got over it, but still.

Perkins did an awesome job of making Anna relatable. The author captured the voice of a normal teenager and straight away, we can empathize with Anna's character. Sure, she was a bit melodramatic at times, we all are, but it elevated to humour and made everything better.

The chemistry between Anna and Etienne/St Clair was electrifying. What made this book great was the fact that their relationship did not happen instantly. We get to see how it develops, how Anna and Etienne evolve from being strangers to friends, from friends to best friends, to falling in love with each other. There were such heart-warming and funny scenes between them. With the development of Anna and Etienne's relationship, you also get see how each character develop and how they face their own faults. They bring out the great things in each other and it's just adorable to see them together. They are the cutest.


Anna and the French Kiss has an enchanting backdrop that makes the story so much better than if it had been set in, say, New York. Perkins did a great job of making Paris come alive, making it such an interesting place to live in, not just visit. I wanted to go France already, but after this, I want to live there. The descriptions of Anna exploring new places were so vivid. It felt like I was walking through the streets of Paris myself, enjoying coffee in some awesome cafe (I don't even like coffee, but I wanted some right then). The food, the culture, the language, the people, the arts, the food. Everything was great and nothing sucked.

The book may have been predictable and unoriginal but Perkins managed to keep my interest throughout the whole thing. I recommend overlooking the cheesy title and the even cheesier cover (I nearly didn't) because this was an absolute fun read. If you are interested in something light and fluffy, then this is the book for you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN GREEN!

I'd like to wish John Green, one of the best young adult authors in the world a very happy birthday. John's works have given me so much enjoyment and pleasure. I consider his stories and characters life time companions. The videos he and his brother make are just great. I love Nerdfighteria and everything it stands for. I will be forever thankful for John and Hank's existence and awesomeness.

The image you see up there is Hank's awesome birthday gift to John. It is made up of tiny pictures of Nerdfighters all over the world. It looks awesome and is metaphorical and symbolic. We all know how much John loves metaphors. It was a shame because I didn't get a chance to submit my own photo because I checked my email right as the deadline passed.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHN!




Wednesday 22 August 2012

Review: Hemlock - Kathleen Peacock


Hemlock (Hemlock, #1)

Title: Hemlock
Author: Kathleen Peacock
Series: Hemlock (1)
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: 08 May 2012
Rating: 

My sister told me that Hemlock is a deadly poisonous plant, but if you take small dosages of it, you'll become immune to its poison. Doesn't that sound cool? I thought it did. I assumed that this was going t be some dystopian/post-apocalyptic novel and the Hemlock plant would act as a plot device or something. It didn't. This is what I get for not reading the synopsis of the book.
What Hemlock is really about:

Hemlock was a murder mystery set in the town of Hemlock. In this world, the government has revealed the existence of lupine syndrome (being a werewolf) and it is treated as a deadly disease. Those who are infected by it must report themselves for their own safety and those around them. They are to be sent to a camp 'fit for their needs as a werewolf'.


Mackenzie enters her senior year without her best friend, Amy, by her side. Amy has been cruelly murdered by a blood lust white werewolf, and he's till out there. Mac is now haunted by dreams and nightmares of her best friend. Mac decides to investigate Amy's murder herself, in the hope of finding closure and to put an end to her nightmares. She uncovers secrets- about Amy, about Amy's boyfriend, about her friends, about Hemlock- that would leave Mac unable to return to the norm.


It sounds interesting, but I think an appearance of a certain poisonous plant would have made the book far more enjoyable.

Mac, the main character, was annoying at time. Actually, most of the characters annoyed me.   Mac was supposed to be the extraordinary girl, the only one capable of solving this murder mystery that has everyone stumped. But, no. She's such an airhead. I haven't got a clue how she solved Amy's murder. She was a damsel in distress, in constant need of saving because she can not resist putting herself in reckless situations and tripping over things. I can only hope that Mac develops and grows some freaking balls in the next installments. (Not that I'd be reading them)


Of course, there's a love triangle, and it's tooth-achingly forced. Mac has two guys pining for her love, the cute boy next door, Kyle and the bad boy with the self-destructive streak, Jason. Really? Again? Mac is best friends with both guys and she can't make the decision because she's afraid of hurting either of them, even though she's already in love with freaking Kyle. It was like an episode of a day time soap opera or something. It was excruciating. That's not even all of it. There were all these other little details that were really stupid and unnecessary (I got a mild headache from all the eye rolling). The author just put it in for the sake of bulking up her novel and trying to add more depth to the plot. 


Hemlock would have been so much better if it focused more on the werewolves, murder mystery and Mac's nightmares. Oh, and let's not forget about those poisonous plants.

Tuesday 21 August 2012

Read It and Weep

I was scrolling through my Tumblr Dashboard. The usual- hipster things, photography photos, quotes, photo-sets, gifs, whatever. Then I came across this text post:
There's going to come a day when we've all grown up, had a career, maybe got married and had kids, when were all going about our daily routine. Maybe you're driving to work with the car radio on, or you're making dinner with the tv on in the lounge. Life as usual, and then we hear a name. It's the name of the person you had a blog dedicated to when you were 16. The person you had posters of up on your bedroom wall, or as your desktop background. The person off that show you used to watch every week, as soon as it came out, or that band you used to love. The person from the cast of a movie that changed your life, or the character who you scrolled through page after page of fanfiction of. You haven't heard that name in a long time, and it brings everything back. And then the name is followed by three words you thought you'd never hear. Has Passed Away. And then you put down the potato peeler and lean back against your kitchen bench, or you pull over to the side of the road, and tears are streaming down your face. And all over the world, there are people who used to be just like you, with tears marking their cheeks and sobs forcing their way out of their throat, because they remember. Because fandoms never really die out. We never really move on. We never really forget.
Yes. I know. It was cruel and sad and inevitable. Needless to say, I just sat there and cried my eyes out while a montage of deaths of all the awesome people flashed through my brain. I cried even more. I could not handle it.

Friday 17 August 2012

The Discovery of a New Obsession

I just discovered the best web-series in the world.
The Lizzie Bennet Diaries


It is a modern retelling of the much loved classic, especially by me, Pride and Prejudice. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is done in the style of a vlog diary. We get to know everyone; from Charlotte to Lydia, to Caroline to Darcy, through Lizzie ramblings about her life. But the only characters we actually do get to see for ourselves are Lizzie's sisters, Jane and Lydia (There's only three of them in this one. I suppose having five children goes against modern views or whatever), and Lizzie's best friend, Charlotte. At least, I think they're the only characters we see. I'm only up to episode 8. Anyway, they've got the characters spot-on, especially Lydia and the mum. Lydia is my favourite in this retelling and 'Lizzie' does a fantastic job of impersonating her mother. I can't keep the smile off of my face because she does the mother so well and she looks so funny. But do we actually get to see what everyone else look like? Mr Collins? Bingley? Darcy? I want to see all the men. Hopefully we at least get a glimpse of what they look like every now and then.

It's pretty recent in the sense that it started this year (April) and it's been going on since. I haven't got a clue why I've only found out about this now because the executive producer is Hank Green and I make it my business to know the Green Brothers' business.

I'm going to go back to watching the videos now.

Follow Friday (4)


Gain New Blog Followers
Feature and Follow is hosted by Paranjunkee & Alison Can Read every Friday. Complete Rules and Instructions are here: Feature and Follow

This week's question:

What blogger inspires you? It can be any kind, it doesn't have to be a book blog.

I love reading author's blogs the most. They're so entertaining. The stuff they post, whether about their book or just some random thing, are so interesting. It's really inspiring to see how these authors live and think and their personalities shows. It shows that they'er not just a name, but actually a person who persevered to write and to achieve their dreams.
Also, just bloggers in general are so inspiring, book blogs especially. I've only done mine for a number of weeks and I've already have to take a break. There's not enough time to do all the things I want in a day. And there are all these bloggers that have been doing it for a year or two or even three years (How? I can't even.)

Thursday 16 August 2012

Review: Perfect Chemistry - Simone Elkeles

Perfect Chemistry (Perfect Chemistry, #1)Title: Perfect Chemistry
Author: Simone Elkeles
Series: Perfect Chemistry
Publisher: Walker Books
Release Date: 23 December 2008
Date Read: August 2012
Rating: 

This review will contain spoilers.

I should've known, really. Actually, I did know. I just didn't listen to myself. I blame the lack of available books I've got. I haven't been to the library for so long and I've succumb to reading this. I'm going to go on a borrowing rampage now just to prevent this from happening again.

Enough ramblings. 

Just by reading two chapters I could already tell what would happen in Perfect Chemistry. It was extremely predictable. You know how you get those books that are so transparent and predictable but it doesn't even matter because you're just enjoying the book so much (think Cinder by Marissa Meyer)? Well, Perfect Chemistry wasn't one of those books.

Golden Girl Britanny is not who she seems. It's all an act. Under all that pretending, she hides a girl insecure and drowning with all the expectations her mother puts her with. Bad Boy Alex is part of a gang, the Latino Blood, but only to give protection to his family, so they won't get jumped and whatnot by gang members. The two are worlds apart but a fateful Chemistry class forces the two together when the teacher pulls out a seating arrangement, telling the two to sit next to each other for the rest of the year.

Of course, by now, the two are already attracted to each other even though Britanny has a boyfriend and they're acting like they hate each other's guts. To quote one of the characters, "Everyone knows it's all foreplay." But, if it's not enough, Alex accepts a bet that he can get Britanny to sleep with him before Thanksgiving. Using whatever he's got to win the bet, Alex slowly -- surprise, surprise --starts to fall in love with Britanny and -- again surprise, surprise-- Britanny feels the same way. They flirt. They can't be together because Alex is in a gang. They become a couple. Alex thinks Britanny is worth risking everything for but is too scared to leave the gang. They fool around. They sleep together. Britanny finds out about the bet. Britanny leaves him. Fast forward ten months, Alex is cleaned up, out of the gang, in college and proposes to Britanny that when they graduate, they'll get married. They get married. They have babies. Their son is in the exact same Chemistry class as them. The end.

I knew all of that would happen by the third chapter, apart from a few minor details. It was all so very predictable and the writing was just meh. Nothing really stood out from the book. It was one big meh.

I know so many people who just absolutely love this book. So many people. I can not fathom why. I feel like maybe we read completely different books, like maybe they're talking about a different Perfect Chemistry or someone pulled a prank on my copy and tapped a different cover to the book I just read. I don't know.

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Review: City of Bones - Cassandra Clare


City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)
Title: City of Bones
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments (1)
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Release Date: 27 March 2007
Date Read: August 2012
Rating: 

This review contains an extensive amount of spoilers. Only those who have read the book are immune and to others, this intense dosage of spoilers can be fatal to the system. There is no cure. Beware.

Now, I'd heard a lot of this book, this series, the prequel trilogy, the author. Lots of people seemed to really like the book and I don't mind trying out new reads. I really hoped to like it, as well, since I'd heard that Cassandra Clare used to be very popular in the fan fiction world, going around with the name Cassandra Clair. She wrote the Draco Trilogy and people loved it. I haven't read it myself, being a late bloomer in the HP fandom, but because she had affiliations with the HP world, I really wanted to like her own series and give her support and whatnot.


When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .
(from Goodreads)

Clary is one of the most pathetic heroines I've ever had the displeasure to meet. Clary is useless and stupid. She overhears Luke telling a couple of creepy looking men- who is probably working for the enemy- that he doesn't give a damn about Clary and her mother, that he's just going away to some country until this debacle with Valentine is over because it's not really his problem. Clary immediately believes his words, doesn't even think about the possibility that maybe, just maybe, Luke is lying. Maybe Luke is just protecting Clary and his mother and the flipping Cup. Maybe he's not actually going to go off into hiding, instead, he's looking for the Cup or Clary's abandoned mother himself, or gathering allies or whatever. Maybe Luke is lying to these creepy looking men are obviously the enemy, trying to keep whatever advantage he has. Did any of these thoughts enter Clary's mind? No. Why? Because she's thick. And Clary is so mean to her best friend, Simon who, of course, is in love with her and it's so obvious with everyone apart from Clary. I'll overlook the fact that Clary was so unrealistically blind, but even after she found out Simon's true feelings, she still treated him like crap. Clary just used Simon for things she wanted and the second she got it, she'd forget about him until she needed something from him again. Clary is so incapable doing anything badass. She doesn't even do anything. In a world where all sorts of demons are attacking you, you'd at least think that she'd be able to defend herself. But no. She only successfully killed a demon once, and the author did that to impress the Shadowhunters about her potential or whatever. After that, every time they encountered some evil being, Jace or Luke or Simon or whoever was always there to stand in front of her and fight while she does nothing. People keep telling Clary to stay at a place where she's safe because they know she won't be able to defend herself and she'll just end up being a burden. So what does Clary do? She goes straight to the trouble anyways. That wouldn't normally be a problem but Clary JUST STANDS THERE. SHE DOESN'T FIGHT. SHE COWERS IN A CORNER AND LOOKS SCARED, WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO ATTACK HER SO SHE CAN YELL FOR JACE TO SAVE HER.

And Jace. He was okay, I guess. Charming, handsome, 'funny', and he knows it. I put funny in quotations because he only made me chuckle once or twice. I'd expect a lot more witty comebacks from his kind of personality. I liked him until the end when he was being a dumbass in that whole episode with Valentine. Ugh.


The writing felt really off, as well. I was hoping that it was the first couple of chapters that I didn't favour, or that those chapters just sucked. But, no. It was the writing and it was not good.

Normally, I don't compare books to other books, but I couldn't help it with this one. As I was reading it, I kept thinking about how City of Bones felt to similar to Harry Potter. Valentine- the main antagonist- was suspected dead after a battle between the Shadowhunters and co, and Valentine and the Circle. Valentine wanted to stop the Accord from being passed, an agreement with the Downworlders that ensures peace and harmony between them and the Shadowhunters and humans. Valentine claimed that Downworlders weren't pure and inhuman. They do not deserve to walk this earth and the world has to be rid of this abomination. He's had this idea since he was in school, and he managed to convince fellow students of this belief. These students basically worshiped Valentine. Why wouldn't they? Valentine was smart, funny, charming, handsome, popular, highly skilled and he paid attention to them, to these unimportant little people. Soon enough, Valentine and his followers called themselves the Circle and continued pursuing this belief. It came time to battle to enforce the Accord and the Circle lost. Many were killed but the remaining few cooperated enough to give names and other information regarding the Circle.

Does that not sound like Voldemort and the Death Eaters? Doesn't it? I know J.K. Rowling wasn't the first to write about prejudism and group oppressors, but seriously. It sounds a lot like Harry Potter. It doesn't help the fact that Cassandra Clare wrote a fan fiction on HP and all these similarities just smell fishy to me. I said that I haven't read the fan fiction so I won't comment on it. I don't know what it's about. I'm just going to leave it here.

I don't know if I'm going to keep reading this. Probably not. I think I'll try the prequel trilogy, though. I heard it's way better that this one.


P.S.
Clary is such a stupid name. I hate having to say it. It feels so weird in my mouth- so slippery and unnatural. It reminds me of a fish.

Monday 13 August 2012

Musing Mondays (2)


Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading.


This week's musing asks:
Do you snack while you read? If so, what is your favourite reading snack?

I prefer not to eat anything while reading. I've discovered that it hampers down emotions the novel would've otherwise gotten out of me. Eating distracts me from reading, I think. Usually because I have Nutella. Also, it's not really a good sign if I want to eat something when I'm reading. I'm probably not enjoying the book very much.

Sunday 12 August 2012

Review: Legend - Marie Lu

Legend (Legend, #1)Title: Legend
Author: Mrie Lu
Series: Legend (1)
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Release Date: 29 November 2011
Date Read: August 2012
Rating: 

I ended up putting off reading this one for quite a while because some forgotten reason. But I got through it and I really enjoyed this. It was so good. 

Legend is written in split narratives between June Iparis and Day Wing. June and Day live in completely different worlds; Day, the most notorious criminal of the Republic and June, a prodigy and a soldier of the Republic. June's brother is brutally murdered and her new mission is to capture the criminal. This mission brings her to Day's presence and, of course, romance blooms between the two.

The characters felt a little bit two dimensional, though. I mean, I really enjoyed reading their perspectives but June and Day were just so perfect. I don't recall any actual flaws in their character. Oh, but I guess there was something with June. She's the Republic's prodigy, exceptionally smart and physically incredible, and that's exactly who she was. She didn't even question the Republic's motives and just believed in her government that they were the good guys, even though proof otherwise was basically handed to her otherwise.

Speaking of the Republic, world building was poor. I haven't got a clue how our world turned into the dystopian that the characters lives in. 

Legend is a dystopian novel filled with action, adventure and intrigue. Apparently it was a retelling or inspired or something by Les Miserables. Now I don't actually know what Les Mis is about so I can't comment on that. But it did feel a lot like Romeo and Juliet.

But, yes, it was great.

Friday 10 August 2012

Follow Friday (3)


Gain New Blog Followers
Feature and Follow is hosted by Paranjunkee & Alison Can Read every Friday. Complete Rules and Instructions are here: Feature and Follow

This week's question:
What would you do over if you were to start your blog again from scratch?

I don't know. I'm pretty pleased with the overall look, and whatnot, of my blog. Although I do wish I knew more html coding stuff so that I can do more personalized the posts. I still don't get how people do it. I'ts like learning a completely different language. Html is quite cool.


Monday 6 August 2012

Review: Hold Me Closer, Necromancer - Lish McBride

Hold Me Closer, NecromancerTitle: Hold Me Closer, Necromancer
Author: Lish McBride
Series: Necromancer (1)
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Release Date: 10 October 2010
Date Read: August 2012
Rating: 

I finally finished this. It took me so long to read it mostly because I was really busy with other goings-on in my life. I read about three pages then I had to stop. Then continue reading five pages then stop again. I think that affected my reading experience and how much I liked the story. That didn't really help my liking of the book since the paranormal genre is already a hit-and-miss for me.

Sam LaCroix is a college drop-out, making his living by flipping burgers at a fast food chain. An unfortunate accident forces the encounter between the scary, intimidating Douglas Montgomery, who immediately sees Sam for who he really is- a necromancer. With this discovery, Sam's world turns upside down as he struggles to understand himself and his new powers.

The book was meant to be humourous but I don't really remember laughing out loud. It's probably because of the start-and-stop way I read it. I heard that other people really enjoyed this, in spite of its imperfections. Some said that the humour made up for everything else. You'll probably enjoy reading this and find some parts even hilarious.

The story's perspective switches from a number of different characters. We are introduced first to Sam's first person narrative but then it switches to the other characters' perspective in third person, ie Douglas, etc. It certainly provided depth to each character's personality but it got a bit confusing. If she wanted to switch perspectives, then I think it would've been better if Sam's narrative was written in third person, as well. The amount of character's perspectives were hard enough to follow, but the switch from first to third person was overwhelming to understand. Plus, there were flashbacks in the point of view of different characters. It kind of slowed down the action, as well. It was just all confusing.

I was entertained enough by Sam and the side characters. They all had their own distinct personalities and they were all likable. It would've been better if they had been more developed, Douglas especially. 

I would've liked to see Sam's necromancy powers earlier in the novel. It would add to the story if we see other creatures and their lives as well ie fairies, spirits, etc.

Ultimately, I was just disappointed in Hold Me Closer, Necromancer. Everyone had been going on about how awesome and amazing and funny it is. I suppose I ended up setting my expectations way too high and of course the real thing couldn't compare.

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