Short & Sweet: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill and The Mask Falling

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

This book might've gotten a slightly higher rating if I hadn't been in a reading slump, but the pandemic has been doing weird things to my reading. Anyway, I found the main character Nina highly relatable, and I think that was probably the stand-out aspect of the book to me. I felt like I connected with her quite well, from her love of books to her anxiety to her quirky sense of humour. Plot-wise, this is not the most exciting story, and Nina ends up with a lot of relatives who I had difficulty keeping track of. But I liked that by the end, Nina was opening up more to others and being more proactive in her life.

3 shooting stars.

      

The Mask Falling by Samantha Shannon

I found most of this book to be slower-moving than its predecessors; I feel like it was more of a stepping stone to set up the next stage of the story than its own contained plot. It did pick up the pace towards the end, though -- and that cliffhanger! Lots of lingering questions about reveals in the last few pages, for sure. I liked that we got to spend time in a new setting (albeit another Scion one) and met a few new characters.

4 shooting stars. 

         

Short & Sweet: Bright Ruin & A Curse So Dark and Lonely

Bright Ruin by Vic James

Okay, that ending leaves me with so many questions! Spoilers, highlight to read: so it really wasn't spelled out, but Silyen awoke again and broke out of the tomb, right? And came back for Luke? And then they both went back to Far Carr, through a doorway Silyen created? Also, whatever happens with Coira???

Anyway, I feel like this book's plot moved slower than the first two in the series. There was a lot of information-gathering (that deepened our knowledge of the world and characters), but there wasn't much exciting action until the last quarter. Then towards the end all of a sudden everything was happening! There also weren't as many unpredictable twists and turns as previous books have had, but everything was plotted very smartly. I liked the introduction of a new character, that connected to the backstory of another. 

I also grew fonder of Luke in this book, as I really enjoyed seeing his relationship with Silyen grow as they spent time together. Silyen's character, too, becomes a lot clearer in this final book. 

Overall, a very solid conclusion to the series! 

4 shooting stars.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

I enjoyed this take on the Beauty & the Beast fairy tale -- I wasn't sure going into it if I would like the combination of modern and fantasy settings, but Brigid Kemmerer makes it work. Harper is a scrappy heroine who doesn't let anything get in the way of doing what she thinks is right, and Rhen, while at first coming off as a typically arrogant royal used to getting his own way, gradually allows himself to become more vulnerable with Harper as the story progresses. 

I also enjoyed seeing how elements of the original fairy tale were presented in this version. The enchantress who curses the prince plays a much more active role throughout, and the curse itself works differently (and I thought was quite clever). While the plot was fairly predictable (spoilers, highlight to read: I totally guessed that Grey was likely the mysterious "halfling" heir), and the writing itself was rather bland (I would have liked more description of the settings, to really feel like I was there with Harper), I'm interested to see where Kemmerer takes the story in the next book.

4 shooting stars.

 

 

Allegiant: A Rambling Review

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Okay, I finally read it. I don't even know how I managed to go this long without getting totally spoiled for the ending (spoilers, highlight to read: although the way people talked about it, I was pretty sure one of the two main characters was going to die... I kinda suspected it would be Four, though!) 

Anyway, my thoughts: for a final book in a trilogy, I found this strangely boring and uneventful. Like, it's 526 pages, and for about 400 of those, nothing much happens...? It was also less epic than I was expecting, like it felt surprisingly small-scale to me. Usually in the final book of a dystopian series everything gets dealt with on a larger-scale (I mean, look at the Hunger Games series). 

I was kind of annoyed about the Tris/Tobias drama that crops up in here (didn't we deal with that enough in book 2?), although it did provide some interesting glimpses into the psychology of their characters and relationship. But the tension between them felt rather manufactured, as though it was a substitute for the lack of tension in the rest of the story. I didn't feel like there was really a "big bad guy" in this book, an enemy to root against. The Bureau, I guess? But they just seemed sort of lacklustre and bland. 

And don't get me started on some of the plotholes here. I mean, for starters, the explanation for how the world became this way doesn't seem scientifically feasible in the slightest. Spoilers: genetic manipulation of huge numbers of adults? And then correcting them all? But not really correcting them, I guess, and then relying on behavioural modification to address this? Like...what??? How would that even work? It really didn't make sense. But even putting that aside, there are still basic plot points that seem very weak. More spoilers: like, um, if David is clever enough to figure out that Tris and the others are planning something, wouldn't he be clever enough to inoculate himself with the antidote to the memory serum ahead of time? Also, what is the expiry date on that stuff? Because it sounds like it wears off fairly quickly...? And also, why would the Bureau store the memory serum in such a way that a simple password and the press of a button would release it INTO THE BUREAU???? Like why is that even a possibility??? They would, one imagines, never want that to happen. Yet it sounded like it was built right into how the stuff was stored. I mean, the Bureau was seriously really bad at its job, because it was way too easy for Tris' group to rebel.

I liked some of the realizations that various characters in this book came to about life, as there were some kernels in there that felt authentic and true. But most of this book just ended up seeming pretty pointless. I know a lot of readers were upset by this final book (even more spoilers: I'm assuming because Tris dies? Honestly, I felt like that ending that was very true to Tris' character -- the sacrifice for her brother, anyway. The part about being shot to death by David, a man we barely got to know during this third book, did not lend it particular significance), but overall I just felt irritated by the execution of the majority of the storyline, especially given that it's the final book in the series. It feels like it went out not with a bang, but a whimper.


2.5 shooting stars.

 

 

The Scorpion Rules: A Rambling Review

The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow

I thought the premise of this one sounded really cool, and I enjoyed the first part of it, but ultimately it didn't end up working that well for me. A lot of it was pretty slow-paced for a dystopian book (with the exception of a chunk in the middle where a whole lot happens), and it just went so *dark*. I know with a dystopian you can't expect all rainbows and butterflies, but a little more levity in some places might have helped. I also started to dislike most of the characters as the book went on — I found Greta's voice melodramatic in parts, I wasn't big on either of the romantic relationships she is involved in, and for some reason I really found Talis irritating (although maybe we're supposed to?). I would have liked to have seen more of Greta's relationship with her mother — we are only given a glimpse of that, and yet the premise of the novel hinges on a parent's love for their child. 

Admittedly, I took a break from reading it towards the end, and when I picked it back up again I just wasn't really feeling it. If I hadn't gotten most of the way through it already, and felt like I should finish it and write some thoughts on it, I'm not sure I would have. The last few chapters are definitely more interesting, since Greta undergoes a very important change (spoiler, highlight to read: she is transformed into an AI... weirdly, I think I liked her better with her AI personality/voice versus her human one), so my curiosity is mildly piqued for the sequel... but I'm not sure it's really enough to keep me going with the series. I'll have to check out the general reaction to book 2 and see how other readers respond. 

2.5 shooting stars.

 

*Note: I received this book as an ARC from the publisher for review.

 

All These Things I've Done: A Rambling Review

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

I really liked Anya's voice and personality -- she's pragmatic, extremely dedicated to and protective of her family, and bold. She also (at least at the start of the book) really doesn't want to be involved in the criminal activities of her mafia-style family. (She lies a lot, too, which I don't approve of, but I guess that kinda comes with the territory.)

I did find it rather unrealistic that a bunch of the adults treated Anya like an equal, considering she's just sixteen. I mean, I know it's YA, but still. 

The premise of chocolate being illegal is also a bit ridiculous, but I guess the author wanted to make something contraband that has never been illegal in our world. 

I particularly liked the family relationships depicted here; Anya cares so deeply for her brother and sister, and her brother himself is a complex character who plays a very important role in the story. 

While I won't be rushing out to get the next book ASAP, I'll probably try to pick it up at some point to continue.

3.5 shooting stars.

 

Tarnished City: A Rambling Review

Tarnished City by Vic James

I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the first, which may partly be due to the fact that the first book had the novelty of learning about this world and meeting the characters, but is also because I felt like a large chunk of this one in the middle moved quite slowly and was repetitive. There were lots of conversations talking about plans and schemes and then re-hashing what happened, and so many characters that it was really hard to keep track of who had done what where. (Seriously, a cast of characters list is MUCH NEEDED for this series! Also a map would be nice.) Interspersed between all these dialogue scenes were a few dramatic scenes, but they didn't usually build momentum for the plot; it felt like nothing had really changed from before the dramatic scene, and people just carried on having their secretive conversations where they plotted things.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the beginning and ending sections of the story. Abi and Luke are both still pretty bland characters, but we get to see the story unfold from a number of POVs (in third-person voice) – a technique that I think serves the story well and keeps things interesting. Certain characters don't know about secrets that other characters have, so it's kind of like the reader is "in on it" because we get to see everything -- and yet, because of the oblique nature of the way certain POVs or scenes are written, we really don't know everything. "Good guys," "bad guys," and those in-between (*cough*Silyen*cough*) -- we get glimpses into a variety of perspectives (although Silyen's still remains cloaked in mystery and ambiguity).

Some plot twists I saw coming (spoiler, highlight to read: I guessed partway through that Coira was Crovan's child), others I did not (spoiler: Jenner's betrayal came totally out of left field, although since I never really "shipped" the romance with Abi, I wasn't upset about it. Still, hopefully in the third book we'll get his perspective on that, because right now the reader has no idea why he flipped sides. Is it as simple as the reason he gave to Abi?). There was also some interesting character development (or perhaps just further character revelation?) with Gavar, which was good to see.

And as I commented in one of my updates as I was reading, this dystopian series feels very realistic in how it presents the obstacles to the rebels. The governing class is Skilled and the rebels are not, and their continued failure reflects their poor odds of winning this fight. Time and time again they are beaten by the Jardines and their allies. It's dark, there's no doubt about it -- this book is full of death (so many characters died in this one!), torture (mental and physical), and at times a sense of hopelessness pervading the rebel cause. But they keep on fighting, at times acquiring curious and unexpected allies. While Abi and Luke are, as I've said, quite boring as characters, it's easy to root for them to win against Whittam Jardine and his crew. I also found myself rooting for certain characters to join the "good guys", even when it seemed like it was a fruitless hope (*cough*Silyen*cough*).

I was also struck by echoes of socio-political issues we are facing in our current political climate – for example, references to controlling the narrative through the media and the truth being, not facts, but what people are persuaded to believe... sound familiar? A couple of quotes sum it up nicely:

"Abi had dared imagine that the Equals' version of history could be fought with the truth, but how could you do that when they were making it up as they went along, and shouting it over and over and over through the media? They had everything at their disposal: power, money, connections. They hardly even needed Skill."

And then several pages later:

"'Stupid girl,' he said. 'Truth isn't what happened, it's what people will believe happened.'"

I have to wonder how heavily the author was influenced by recent political events in the US... the themes seemed too clear at times to be coincidence.

Anyway, pick this series up if you are looking for a dark, thought-provoking dystopian fantasy series, but be prepared for this book in particular to be slow-moving in the middle, heavy in dialogue scenes, and chock full of political manoeuvring.

3.5 stars.

Short & Sweet: The Jewel

The Jewel by Amy Ewing

So that ended on an abrupt, cliffhanger ending! I liked the sudden reveal, though, as I had been wondering if there was more to that character than met the eye. Glad to see I was right! Overall, this was a decent "dystopian lite" read -- overly dramatic and sappy in spots, with a protagonist who (at this point anyway) is still a bit too passive for my liking, but the premise of surrogates for the upper classes is an interesting one and I enjoyed watching the power plays between the members of the royal class. There are definitely some chinks in the worldbuilding and plotting, and questions raised in my mind that were never answered (spoiler, highlight to read: for example, why didn't Violet use Lucien's arcana way more often when she was having a confidential discussion? She just seemed to forget about the tuning fork until it became convenient for the storyline!). The writing is simple and accessible, making this an easy read.

3.5 stars.

 

All I Want for Christmas 2017 Is... (4)

For any new followers to my blog, this holiday feature is when I share the books that have made it onto my Christmas wishlist.  I'll probably share one or two a week until Christmas. Feel free to link up your own book picks in the comments! 

Tarnished City by Vic James

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Vic James' debut novel Gilded Cage, so I am looking forward to seeing how things continue in the sequel.

What books are you hoping to find under the tree this holiday season? Share in the comments!