Tag Archives: Review

Review: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

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I loved the Hunger Games series but I didn’t rush to read the prequel because I could have cared less about Snow. Before it came out, there were all these rumors about which Hunger Games it would be about and what a disappointment when it turned out to be Snow. There was a time, not so long ago, there was this moment of trying to humanize villains and I didn’t really care to find out what terrible things happen to Snow to turn him evil. An for most of the book, that’s kind of what it was. We met teenage Snow who has been picked to be a Mentor in the 10th Hunger Games. The Capital is still recovering from the war and the Hunger Games hasn’t really caught on with the people. This year, having students be mentor is just one way, they are trying to get people more engaged and make it into what we say 65 years later with Katniss. The Snow family were once a powerful family but lost all of their money when District 13 was destroyed. They only have their name but that might not be enough anymore. His one chance to change their fortunes is to mentor his tribute to win. He is partnered with Lucy Gray Baird from District 12. Lucy Gray is a charismatic singer and makes quite an entrance and soon the people of the Capital are rooting for her and Snow is in love. More appropriately obsessed. Long story short, he cheats to help her win and for punishment he’s forced to join the Peacekeepers and sent to the District 12 to be with Lucy Gray. Seeing how things are in the districts should have open his eyes to the injustice but instead it only makes him more Capital. I guess that is the point of the book. It’s not to humanize him but to explain why and how the Hunger Games became to be and how they came more vicious over time. Snow was truly traumatized by the war but instead of working on his own trauma but puts it onto others. LIke Lucy Gray. He doesn’t truly love her. He is jealous anytime someone else talks to her or about her. He becomes angry at the thought of past lovers. He wants to control her like he ends up wanted to control all of Panem. He is a prime example of the worst of Humanity. He comes off looking normal and reasonable but it only covers up their true nature. This wasn’t as compelling as the original series but wasn’t as disappointing as I originally thought it would be.

Review: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

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I am glad that I didn’t know that this started out as a Reylo fanfic because I think that would have ruined it for me. And that would have been a shame because I really enjoyed this book. It was very cute. I wasn’t sure about the whole Professor/PHD student romance at first because that could be fraught with red flags but I thought it was handled well.

Olive is a Phd student who out of nowhere kisses Professor Adam Carlsen to convince her best friend Anh that she is over her ex. She plans a fake relationship with Adam in hopes that Anh will feel okay dating her ex. Adam goes along with it because well Stanford is withholding some of his financing because they believe he’s about to leave. So they make plans to date for a period of time but of course they fall in love. In between their witty banter and back and fourth’s Olive is also looking for funding. Her mentor is retiring and is already kinda checked out. So she is seeking new labs to keep working on her research. Of course this comes with a whole bunch of complications, mostly stemming from she is a woman in the STEM field.

It’s pretty clear from the get go that Olive and Adam have chemistry. That it’s not just a work proposition that is keeping them together. They help each other help and help each other grow. I really liked reading them as a couple. If I had one qualm about was how it ended. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that the slimy guy gets it but it also felt rushed to me. Other than that I found it to be delightful and I look forward to reading more Ali’s books.

Review: Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu

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This was a fun book. Winter is the biggest pop star in the world. He also happens to be the favorite singer of the daughter of one of the most dangerous men in the world. So when Winter gets invited to play her birthday party it is the opening that Sydney, a covert operative for an agency that does what the CIA won’t. Which if you know the CIA’s history that’s some real shit. Sydney poses as Winter’s bodyguard as they try to infiltrate the bad guys inter-circle to get the evidence needed to finally take him down. One problem. Sydney and Winter don’t really like each other. Well mostly Sydney doesn’t like Winter. She just thinks he’s just another spoiled rich, famous person and she doesn’t like being saddled with him on this mission. Of course the more time they spend with each the more they start to find they like each other. Maybe even love each other. The mission gets complicated and the must work together to survive. Everything you need in a spy romance novel. I loved it and I can’t wait for when they make the movie and cast a real C-Pop star. I could also see them trying to tap the Hallyu wave and change Winter to Korean and cast a K-Pop or Korean actor because why not. I don’t even know if there is a movie or TV show in the works but this would make a great one and with sequels on the way. It will have more material to work with.

Review: Spoiler Alert and All the Feels by Olivia Dade

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Spoiler Alert and All the Feels are delightful. Spoiler Alert we meet Marcus Caster-Rupp is an actor on the most popular show on TV. A Game of Thrones type show based on the Illiad. He sees a fan being bullied online for her weight so he asks her out on a date. He doesn’t realize that April Whittier just happens to be beta reader for his secret double life as fan fic writer. Of course he’s immediately falls in love with her but can’t say anything because if word got out about his fics criticizing his show it could ruin his career. So he keeps it a secret from her but as you know it’s going to come out. April is an intelligent woman but is a little shy when it comes to love because a big girl she hasn’t had the best experiences. Dating as someone as famous as Marcus is a challenge in own right because it won’t stay private for long and people are not kind to fat women. This was such a wonderful story and I loved every second of it. I do love reading about two grown people falling in love. More of this please.

Which brings me to All the Feels. This one follow’s Marcus’ co-star Alex Woodroe who is the life of the party but also a little bit of a wildcard. When he gets in a bar fight the last week of filming, the producers hire a baby sitter to keep in check until the show airs. Lauren Clegg was supposed to be on vacation when her cousin and producer hires her to watch Alex. She moves into his guests house and of course they fall in love but things don’t go smoothly. They both have secrets and insecurities they have to work through until they can move on. Alex is that guy that everyone is friends with and Lauren is okay just staying at home. Opposites attract and boy do they. I think I liked this book better than the Spoiler Alert but they are both incredible. I can’t wait to read the third book.

Quick Review: A Caribbean Heiress in Paris by Adriana Herrera

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This was lovely. I really enjoyed reading about Luz Alana and Evan’s romance. It just was the fluffy romance I was looking for. Luz Alana is an heiress to a Rum fortune from the Dominican Republic. She and her 2 best friends and younger sister have come to Paris to expand her Rum into the European markets during the World’s fair. However, not many men are willing to do business with a women. Meet Evan, a Scottish Earl, who has his own Whiskey distillery. They both need to get married and quickly. She needs a husband to get back her inheritance. He needs to be married to gain full control of this distillery. So they agree to temporary get married until they both get what they want and part ways. Of course, they fall in love and well you know how it goes. Marriage of convenience is not my favorite trope but it works for this novel. Luz and Evan compliment each other very well. Her spirit and stubbornness challenges Evan and Evan’s support is what Luz needs. Despite coming from different places they really understand each other compliment each other and I could not be happier they found each other.

Quick Review: Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong

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I don’t know where to begin with this one because it’s not easy to describe it. It says it’s based on Antony and Cleopatra, which is not a Shakespeare play I am familiar with. We have 3 main characters. Princess Calla who is in hiding, Prince August who is the heir to the throne and Anton, a former quartier who has been exiled. Once a year, the Kingdom of Talin sponsors a hunger games style competition that the winner wins money and an audience with the king. Calla and Anton both enter for different reasons and August makes it possible for them to compete for his own reasons. Basically everyone wants to get rid of the King.

This book was a little hard for me to get into. Some people have the ability to transfer their consciousness into other people’s bodies and while many people can do it, it’s also kinda illegal? The whole concept I found to be confusing and after awhile I just kinda just went with it because while it was important to the stories, it is a small part to the story. I liked the characters and they all have valid reasons for doing what they are doing. I immediately picked up on the twist ending and I’m intrigued as to how this play out in the next book.

Quick Review: Theonite: Planet Adyn by M.L. Wang

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This was a fun book. Joan is a little 13 year old She has powers that no one else has and no one really to talk to about it or would understand. Daniel comes from an alternate universe and does have powers but is new to Joan’s world. Joan is excited to meet Daniel because she finally has someone to ask questions to and maybe get some answers to why she has these powers but it can’t be that simple. Daniel and his father are there to track down a dangerous person and that threat has come for Joan too. Will they escape in time?

Reading about Joan’s life was definitely heartbreaking. Here is a smart girl who feels that she has to hide herself away because no one understands her and will only dismiss her. Her parents are more concerned with their own troubles to really pay attention to her. She has mastered the skill of being invisible. The way she lights up when she discovers that Daniel might have similar powers and finally some answers is so pure and just shows how lonely she has been. I can only hope that she finds what she needs in the sequel.

Quick Review: Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs

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I picked this book because it was about sisters and sisters, Esther and Joanna are a big part of the book. It’s really about two different families that share a connection. Magic exist and it exists in books. There are scribes who blood is used as ink to write spells and there are those who can hear the magic. Esther is a scribe and Joanna can hear the magic. At the beginning of the book Esther has left home and moves every year in fear that whoever killed her mother will find her. Joanna is still at home, protecting the books her father has collected over the years. Things start to change when Esther decides not to move on and they thrown into a mystery of their past. Enter Nicholas, the scribe of the Library. His uncles partner, Maram sends him and his bodyguard, Collins to go find the sisters and unravel the mystery. They find that they are all connected and those that they trusted have not always had their best interests at heart. I’ll admit at first, I wasn’t really into it. It was a slow burn but once I got going, it was really good. All the characters were fleshed out and motivations on how they got to where they were and wanted to move forward. It was fun read. I ended up really enjoying it.

Quick Review: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

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I clearly have a type because I loved this book. It was so much fun. Yes, it does have Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and Hunger Games vibe to it. Violet is about to start her education as a Rider even though all her life she was training to be a scribe. She has chronic illnesses so being a rider is not a good fit for her but her mom is the General and what the General wants she gets. Even if that means putting her own daughter at risk because the survival rate of this school is low. Like 20 students didn’t even live long enough to register. Students still sign up because the lure of being a dragon rider and proctecting their country from the enemy is too big. So Violet has to live through her classes and avoid being killed by her fellow students. Including Xaden Riorson, the son of the former traitor who blames her mom for his father’s death. If you love dragons, action stories, enemies to lover romances and found family stories. This series is for you. I do wish I knew this was a series before I started reading because now I’m anxiously waiting the sequel.

Review: The Sun and The Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro

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I have a lot of respect for Rick Riordan. He became famous for writing stories based on Greek and Roman mythologies. In 2010, he published the first of the Kane Chronicles which was based on Egyptian mythology. The series is not bad but it was pretty obvious that he was a little out of his depth. I believe this is what made him decide to start his own imprint where he would publish authors of color who would right about their own cultures mythologies and stories. That’s being an ally. Using his platform and influence to prop up other authors and highlight different cultures that wouldn’t normally have the opportunity. In The Sun and The Star, he follows the same pattern by teaming up with Queer Author Mark Oshiro to right his story of Nico. Nico has been a character from original Percy Jackson series that has really grown over the course of the books. All of the demigods have a tragic backstory but none more than Nico, the son of Hades. He was probably Rick’s first gay character in all of his books. His coming out scene is probably the most harrowing scenes in the whole saga. So it was good that Rick brought a co-author who can speak to what Nico was going through.

Nico ad his boyfriend Will go on a quest to Tartarus to save the Giant Bob. Bob was a former Giant that in past books had run ins with Percy and Annabeth and Nico. He was pushed into the River Lethe and lost his memories and becomes a janitor in Hades Palace. In the Heroes of Olympus when Percy and Annabeth fall into Tartarus, Bob saves them but they leave him behind and now Nico feels he has to go rescue him. The quest isn’t really about saving Bob but also for Nico to confront and to come to terms with his past. Nico is also probably one of the complex characters in all of the Percyverse. This was a beautiful send off to a great character. I don’t know what the future will be for Nico and the other characters but at least he is finally in a healthy and happy place and I love that for him and Will.