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★★★★☆ I received this eARC from Another World Press on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of this book in any way. He just saw how warped and wrong his Confed must be to have brought us here with their ruthless, brutal magic. #RollCredits Actual rating: 3.5 stars The Writing and Worldbuilding I have to admit, I was considering DNFing this, to the point where it basically convinced me that I don't actually really like urban fantasy all that much. The first 30% was actually quite dreadful, with confusing motivations, rushed exposition, and confusing worldbuilding--like how the magic system even worked in the first place--but once the Exam really picked up, it was smooth sailing from there on out and I was invested and intrigued. Also, this is being compared to The Hunger Games , but honestly, besides that last challenge, it was way more like Ender's Game or Netflix's 3% in every regard. The ac...

★★★★☆ "The world is changing," said Nikolai, the steel edge emerging in his voice. "We change with it, or there will be nothing left to remember us but the dust." The Writing and Worldbuilding I would have liked more in the beginning of Mal and Alina's life across the True Sea. The blurb lied to me a bit in that regard. I really liked the plot in this, way more than Shadow and Bone ; it was more unpredictable and interesting, and also more heart-wrenching when it needed to be. But, because there wasn't as much Darkling as I'd have really loved, it fell just a little flat for me. I'm a little confused about the whole magic versus fancy magic science thing. What's the difference? What's the magic really then? The Characters Alina: I really liked her slow descent into slight madness, growing a bit power-hungry. It was great; I always love slow descents into madness storylines. But her worrying over her love l...

★★★★★ I received this ARC from Orca Book Publishers via LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of this book in any way. I have never cried reading a book so much; it has all the feels. I absolutely love it. It's always worse before you start. So start. The Writing and Worldbuilding The writing had some of the pacing issues the first one had where it tended to run a little slow in the beginning, but, like Dominion , once it picked up, it was steady and intriguing throughout all the way to the end. Shane is great at writing believable, wonderful character arcs and themes. He doesn't shove them into your face, he just gently prods you with them. I absolutely loved the themes in this: blame, shame, fear, anger, weariness, and above all, responsibility were major themes. Those are some of my favorite themes in any book, so it was truly great to read them in this. Besides that, it has themes of revolution, of...

★★★★☆ I actually really liked this. “Every time you victimized someone,” I said, “you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you’ve done, you’ve done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you.” It's pretty unique and interesting, albeit short. I quite enjoyed it and the potential of it for a possible greater story (whether one will ever be written is irrelevant). If you're interested, here's a link . Also, I totally imagined God as Morgan Freeman again lol

★★★★☆ Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful. I have to admit, I was somewhat weary of this book. Despite its short page count, it is very wordy and has long, large paragraphs, and that made the prospect of reading this rather daunting. However, I swallowed my pride and did it, and was greatly rewarded. I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other. Frankenstein and his creature are both so interesting and complex; they're also both so pitiful. So much of their anguish and sorrow could have been avoided if not for human pride. They are both agents of horror and destruction in both action and inaction, and that made for a really interesting story. Besides that, it's extremely quotable. Life, although it may only be an accumulation of angui...

★★★★☆ It's got all the classic middle grade fantasy steampunk adventure vibes. It feels like a Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Avatar the Last Airbender merge with steampunk elements. I first read this when I was like 14 or 15, because my brother brought the first two books in this series home from the library, and we both really loved it. We never finished the series, and I'm glad I stumbled upon it again, because it was just as great as I remember. I really like the characters and the art. Now to finish the rest of the series! Buy the book here: Amazon Book Depository Barnes & Noble

★★★★☆ Wow. That was crazy cool. I don't even really know what to say. It feels like the pilot episode to a really cool new TV show, and I just can't wait to see more. I love the story telling, and the suspense was intense. The art wasn't really my favorite, but I did like it. I'm extremely intrigued. Buy the book here: Amazon Book Depository Barnes & Noble

★★★☆☆ Once you told yourself a story enough times, it was so easy to keep on believing it. Wow, this was kind of a big disappointment. Honestly, the first half before Tally showed up was way better. Speshul Tally was Extra Speshul Tally sometimes and it really dragged down the story with her angry sanctimoniousness. Aya, besides that, was quite annoying most of the time, and I feel like very few people actually learned any real lessons and changed in any real, deep way; other than being perhaps a bit less fame-seeking. [Except that they all were famous by the end! So none of it really mattered anyway! And the whole, ~ it was all just a big misunderstanding ~ was way too much like those crappy Scooby Doo episodes where the bad guy wasn't evil and no one goes to jail at the end (I hated those episodes so much). Also, um, I'm sorry but stealing metal internationally doesn't seem like something that everyone would just forget about and be like, "oh no wor...

★★★★★ I received this ARC from William Morrow on LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of this book in any way. "Being strong does not disqualify you from being beautiful." Wow this book is amazing! The Writing For a debut, this is absolutely astounding! This is one of the most well written books I have ever read! As an example, here's a bunch of quotes I particularly loved: "Compelling fiction often obscures the humble truth." I wonder sometimes if the thoughts that flock my nightmares are abandoned memories coming home to roost. I no longer believe that people are born without virtue. It gets beaten out. Misfortune threshes our souls as a flail threshes wheat, and the lightest parts of ourselves are scattered to the wind. I was a mouse trapped in a corner, looking for a crack to flee through but dispairing of finding one. "Imagine what ideas are locked up in...

[WARNING: This review contains spoilers] ★★★★★ MAY 23RD UPDATE: After a lot of thought, I have decided to drop my rating from 5 stars to 4 stars because of the issues I had with the ending. Most of the book was 5 stars, but the ending felt like 3.5 stars, with some parts closer to 2 stars. "As Illumae." #LiterallyConjuringLight #RollCredits The Worldbuilding and Writing As usual, Schwab utterly impressed me with her ability to weave an intoxicating and intriguing tale in an equally amazing world. The sleeping curse had a strong Sleeping Beauty feel to it that I really liked, and the whole Black curse itself reminded me of Neil Gaiman's The Sleeper and the Spindle . There were more actual consequences, and character deaths that actually meant something, in this book, and I appreciated that. I hate it when a character dies but it means nothing because they either weren't well developed or important, or there wasn't a thematic me...

[WARNING: This review contains spoilers] ★★★★☆ I'M SHOOK The Writing and Worldbuilding The writing style wasn't my favorite, I gotta admit. There wasn't anything wrong with it, per se, but it just wasn't that engrossing for me. I did really enjoy the story though. THAT PLOT TWIST I should have seen coming but didn't, because I'd blinded myself was so great!  lol I should have known that a character who literally goes by "the Darkling" would turn out to be evil, but alas. I gotta admit though, even though there seems to be no hope for them, because, well, the Darkling is like super crazy and controlling, man, I still kind of want it to happen for some reason. I mean, I like Mal, but the Darkling is so dazzling 😍😍😍 but I guess that was the point. I'm still under his spell. [lol I should have known that a character who literally goes by "the Darkling" would turn out to be evil, but alas. I gotta admit though, ev...

★★★★☆ Me at every YA protagonist ever: "I thought if you could see the world clearly, you'd think about yourself a little less. It wouldn't just be you and your latest boyfriend; I thought you might let something else matter every once in a while." The Writing and Worldbuilding The world really expanded in this one, and even gave me a clearer geographic idea of where the previous books took place. I'm guessing Tally's city is in Oregon or Washington, and that makes me happy because yay! A local! I liked how the cliches of this series were actually questioned, like Tally's selfishness, and how she's constantly being caught and upgraded. "I'm not sure what I am anymore, Zane. Sometimes I think I'm nothing but what other people have done to me—a big collection of brainwashing, surgeries, and cures." Overall, I liked this book, but I wasn't really on the edge of my seat the whole time; I wasn...

★★★☆☆ Actual rating: 3.5 I received this eARC on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of this book in any way. "I am the Failsafe." #RollCredits The Writing and Worldbuilding The writing style was really hard to get used to at first, I gotta admit. It is first person and very much stream of consciousness, which was difficult to adjust to. For instance, the word "craptastic" is used. And besides that, the first chapter was extremely rushed. I thought there'd be an introduction to Sol's life and family, but no, that was all done in exposition, with the first chapter consisting of things I thought would happen in the third or fourth chapter. Besides that, there were so many typos. It was really hard to ignore them, being a grammar nazi and all. Also, sometimes, scenes were just completely skipped, like Deen wanted them in the plot but didn't want to bother writing them. It was very j...

★★★★★ I received this eARC from Tachyon Publications on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of this book in any way. For fans of The Lord of the Rings , The Oddling Prince is a tale of two brothers and their father, the King, and a ring of power that has plans of its own. The Writing and Worldbuilding The beginning of this book was somewhat difficult to really get into, as the book was written differently than any book I've ever read before, with a very storybook, almost Shakespearean style. I feel that it would be great as an audiobook, because the 1st person narrative has many asides and interjections from Aric, the protagonist, that it seemed to be a story being told. Once I got used to it, I really enjoyed the writing. There are many terms that might be unfamiliar to many readers, so I would only suggest this to people who are fluent in English and at high school reading level or greater. I loved the world! Elfl...

★★☆☆☆ So here's the deal with this book: I was 11, it was the week before my family left on our summer vacation, and my sister checked this out from the library for our trip. She read it first, and then passed it on to my other sister, who in turn passed it on to me. We all agreed that it was terrible, and yet we all read it. I have no explanation for this. So here's the deal with the plot: Patience is a girl who lives in the British countryside and in the first chapter of the book dresses up as a man to intercept her best friend and stop him from dueling with this guy, who supposedly deflowered his sister or something. So, she runs into the duel like a complete idiot and gets shot. Turns out the guy doing the deflowering is her newly betrothed. Because crappy romance book. And on goes the strangest book I've ever read. ~A list of what happens (I haven't been able to find a copy in years, so I'm pretty sure it doesn't exist anymore, so spoilers d...

★★★★☆ I really liked this, but I didn't love it. The Writing and World-Building I really liked how this book goes into some more mature themes, like motherhood, apathy, abuse, and depression, but found that in the third part, where it should have climaxed and been at its literary peak, I found it somewhat lacking. There were some characters whose arcs weren't really completed. I did, though, really appreciate the return of the Trademaster, though he did feel rather stereotypical and cliché. The Characters Claire: I really loved Claire. She made an excellent protagonist for the majority of the book. Einar: I seriously freaking love Einar. I only want the best for him! I just want him to be happy and loved! ❤❤❤ Gabe: He was a bit too similar to Matty to really feel like anything special, though I did like him. Alys and Benedikt: They were so cute!!! The Trademaster: A little tropey, a little Trumpy... Conclusion I liked ...

★★★★★ While the plot issues with Gathering Blue weren't resolved in this one, it stood on it's own better as a story. I loved Matty in this, and all the other characters too, like Seer, Leader (who's totally Jonas), Jean, and Kira from Gathering Blue. The themes of immigration and acceptance, of social sickness reflecting in nature were very well done and relevant. I wished there had been a bit more in some areas, but found myself deeply engrossed throughout and read it all in one sitting (it is very short though, so that isn't exactly a bragging point). I'm excited to read Son now, which is considerably longer than Gathering Blue and Messenger, possibly even combined. Buy the book here: Amazon Book Depository Barnes & Noble

★★★★☆ The Writing and Worldbuilding It bui lds on the world Uglies established, expanding and giving insight into the behind the scenes of the society.  I was annoyed with the whole ~ love cures all ~ thing, as well as aspects of the love triangle, as, at this point, they're very old tropes, but since this came out over ten years ago, before The Hunger Games even, I'll give it some free passes. The slight glorification of Zane's undernourishment and gaunt appearance wasn't okay, though. I understand why he was gaunt, but I don't understand why Tally thought it was attractive. [I was annoyed with the whole ~ love cures all ~ thing, as well as aspects of the love triangle, as, at this point, they're very old tropes, but since this came out over ten years ago, before The Hunger Games even, I'll give it some free passes. The slight glorification of Zane's undernourishment and gaunt appearance wasn't okay, though. I understand why he was g...