Wishes and Pages (EN): August 2015

Monday, 31 August 2015

Goodbye Summer Time! | August 2015 Wrap Up

I can't believe August is already over, that it will be school time again, then Fall (hello, big coats!) and then Christmas (in three months, but I'm already excited and I've started my book wishlist).

WHAT I READ

I was in a reading slump this month, because of some books that pissed me off, so I mainly read e-novellas (I know, it seems that I read a lot but in fact I didn't). I'm also really excited for some releases like Queen of Shadows (my pre-order will only arrive the 15th sadly), I didn't want to read anything else...

Maybe Not by Colleen Hoover (Maybe #1.5) 4 stars

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski (The Winner Trilogy #1) 4.5 stars

The Winner's Crime (The Winner Trilogy #2) 3.5 stars

Rook by Sharon Cameron 4.5 stars

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith 5 stars

White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout 2.5 stars

Stone Cold Touch (The Dark Elements #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout DNF
Uprooted by Naomi Novik 4.5 stars

Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy (Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy #1) by Cassandra Clare 4 stars

The Lost Herondale (Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy #2) by Cassandra Clare 4 stars

The Whitechapel Fiend (Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy #3) by Cassandra Clare 4.5 stars

Nothing but Shadows (Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy #4) by Cassandra Clare 5 stars

The Evil We Love (Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy #5) by Cassandra Clare 4.5 stars

Pale Kings and Princes (Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy #6) by Cassandra Clare 4 stars

Bitter of Tongue (Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy #7) by Cassandra Clare 4 stars

This is what happy looks like by Jennifer E. Smith 4 stars

Currently reading: Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen // Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli.

WHAT I WATCHED

Fantastic Four: I really liked the fact that this movie was more about character development than fully action-packed. I know it confused some people, but I'm not among them. It was very interesting to see the beginning of Ben and Reed's friendship during their childhood. They took the characters in a direction I wasn't expecting and it was totally realistic. 4 stars

Up (rewatch): I loved it even so much more the second time around (I didn't think I would, honestly), I cried a lot and laughed a lot. It was one of the best Pixar movies. 5 stars

The Maze Runner: I still hadn't watch it, I know. It was true to the book and everything, but it didn't exactly blew me away as a movie. I'm waiting to see The Scorch Trials. 3.5 stars

Pretty Little Liars (season 6): Overall, I liked the plot from this season but when the truth was revealed about A, I was so disappointed. It was totally weird and I had a hard time containing my disbelief, but honestly, it's maybe just me. However, I'm so excited about season 6B, because of the time jump, I really want to know what the Liars have become and what is this new threat.

WHAT I POSTED

WHAT HAPPENED IN MY LIFE

I celebrated my one year anniversary with my boyfriend, I'm so happy!
I went in vacation in the South of France, it was soooo hot. I was just going to the beach, swimming and reading all day.
I just came back from a formation and now I'm totally able to work with children (it's for my summer job), I'm kinda graduated for that.
I'm really sad I have to go back to school in the weeks to come...

How was your month?

Sunday, 30 August 2015

Review : Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini

Title: Trial by Fire (The Worldwalker Trilogy #1)

Author: Josephine Angelini

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Release date: September 2nd 2014

Goodreads summary: This world is trying to kill Lily Proctor. Her life-threatening allergies keep her from enjoying experiences that others in her hometown of Salem take for granted, which is why she is determined to enjoy her first high school party with her best friend and longtime crush, Tristan. But after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class, Lily wishes she could just disappear.

Suddenly, Lily is in a different Salem—one overrun with horrifying creatures and ruled by powerful women called Crucibles. Strongest and cruelest of them all is Lillian . . . Lily's other self in this alternate universe.

What makes Lily weak at home is what makes her extraordinary in New Salem. In this confusing world, Lily is torn between responsibilities she can't hope to shoulder alone and a love she never expected.

REVIEW

"Lily girl? Are you dead yet?" the shaman asked. The sound of his voice warmed her and gave her strength. She might be in the dark, but at least she wasn't alone.

"Not yet," Lily answered, smiling.

"Then let's get back to work. You've got a lot to learn."

Everyone seems to either love or dislike this book, I thought I would fall in the latter category, but boy I was wrong. For me, Trial by Fire was a very unique read and I can't wait to read the sequel, Firewalker, who will be released September 1st.

This book started as a typical contemporary: Lily starts to go out with her best friend, Tristan, but he's a total player and while they're at a party, things go wrong. Lily also has family issues 1) she seems to be allergic to EVERYTHING 2) her mom is crazy 3) her dad left and didn't divorce because he doesn't want to be stuck with her. When everything in her life starts to suck, Lily follows a voice in her head and leave. Then, she's is another world.

She's in another Salem, who seems medieval in some ways but futuristic in others. There, witchcraft rules the world, with Lillian at its head, which means… Lily 'evil' double. Here, science is punishable by death and no one knows why...But Lillian.

"Magic is a science only people who are born with a particular talent can do," Rowan said. He poured maple syrup on Lily's pancakes. "Actual science can be done by anyone. And there's no way for Lillian to control what people do with it or how far it spreads."

Caleb guffawed. "Like Tristan said. She's a power-hungry bitch who wants to rule the world with an iron-fist."

I really like this world, how much Angelini explained the way magic worked, but at the same time, it felt a little like info-dumping sometimes, it was hard to process all these informations.

For the characters, I thought that in the beginning, Lily was a little too much naïve, but she got through a lot of character development, I liked her a lot more at the end of the novel. Something I really liked about her was her relationship with Juliet, like her mom said "there is no Juliet who doesn't love you", it was such a strong relationship! However, I'm not sure about the romance, it was a little obvious and will be complicated in the second book, is their love strong enough? I'm not sure… I liked the three boys, Rowan, Tristan and Caleb, especially the dynamics they had together.

The plot was well executed and unpredictable, even if in the beginning, it seemed to be a classical learning and fighting the villain. Speaking of which, I found Lillian to be really interesting, the kind of villain who wants to do 'the right thing' but doesn't back up and can kill to achieve her goal. Lily could easily cross the line and end up like her, we'll see in the next book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story, I'm not really familiar with parallel worlds, now I want to read more books about that. I liked the dynamics between the characters, not particularly the romance, but maybe it'll improve in the next one. The ending makes me want to jump right into the next book.

Rating: 4/5

Thursday, 27 August 2015

Review : Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Title: Uprooted

Author: Naomi Novik

Publisher: Del Rey

Release date: May 19th 2015

Goodreads summary: “Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

REVIEW

I was a little scared that this book wouldn't live up to the hype. The early reviews all praised this book and apparently it has been optioned for a movie. Hopefully, this is one of those books who could survive the hype surrounding it.

The world-building was truly fantastic, it had such a fairy tale feeling to it, it reminded me a little of the Grisha trilogy, for the Fold and the Russian vibe. Here, it was most a Central Europe one, it reminded, indeed, of the Grimm brothers. In this world, the fairy tale is mixed with the high fantasy, it was such a concentration of interesting elements that I'm not even sure how to classify this.

"They looked at me and saw someone out of a story, who might ride by and be stared at, but didn't belong in their lives at all."

In fact, we see so many aspects of this world with this one book, so it was legit for it to be a standalone. We start to this lonely life with a lot of learning to the creepy Wood, to the court with its parties and plotting, to a kind of war. Because of that, this book has a little something for every kind of reader (and it's not heavy on romance, but I wished for more this time).

The main characters were both amazing, they had such an interesting love/hate relationship, because they had different opinions on how to do things. I regret a little we didn't see them together that much, but it's alright. At some point, I got all the feels because of them, I was so happy with the ending, for them. Agniezka was this kind of character who doesn't think she's anything special, she's very clumsy and has a tendency for being dirty (against her will).

"Do none of you ever walk?" I asked, baffled.

"And how do you keep from getting all over mud?" she said.

We both looked down. I was a good two inches deep in mud along all the bottom of today's skirt: bigger around than a wagon-wheel and made of purple velvet and silver lace. "I don't", I said glumly.

The secondary characters were also pretty interesting, especially Kasia, because she always thought she would be chosen by the Dragon, but it didn't happen, still her fate was so much more interesting, I'm really happy about that.

The Wood was a creepy entity which almost felt like a character. It was such a great 'villain', it reminded me both of the Fold in Shadow and Bone and the Great Forest in Crimson Bound, in a really good way.

No one went into the Wood and came out again, at least not whole and themselves. Sometimes they came out blind and screaming, sometimes they came out twisted and so misshapen they couldn’t be recognized; and worst of all sometimes they came out with their own faces but murder behind them, something gone dreadfully wrong within.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, it is such a unique high fantasy and I'm pleased that it was really a standalone (um, remember An Ember in the Ashes? I loved this book, but it was obvious it wouldn't be a standalone, as initially announced). I had a few issues with the pacing and was a bit confused at times, but it was really good and I really recommend you to read it.

Rating: 4.5/5

Wednesday, 26 August 2015

Queen of Shadows & Vengeance Road | Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine in which we discuss our most anticipated upcoming releases. Personally, I always speak of books released on the next Tuesday, but that's not everyone's case.

Title: Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4)

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children

Release date: September 1st 2015

Goodreads summary: Sarah J. Maas's New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series reaches new heights in this sweeping fourth volume.

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past...

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.

Celaena’s epic journey has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.

MY THOUGHTS

The answer is really obvious. I've read the three first books in this series, and it kept getting better and better. I've been anticipating this book since I finished Heir of Fire, and I can't wait to get my hands on it. I've never been disappointed by Sarah J. Maas, I know I'll love it!

Title: Vengeance Road

Author: Erin Bowman

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers

Release date: September 1st 2015

Goodreads summary: When Kate Thompson’s father is killed by the notorious Rose Riders for a mysterious journal that reveals the secret location of a gold mine, the eighteen-year-old disguises herself as a boy and takes to the gritty plains looking for answers and justice. What she finds are devious strangers, dust storms, and a pair of brothers who refuse to quit riding in her shadow. But as Kate gets closer to the secrets about her family, she gets closer to the truth about herself and must decide if there's room for love in a heart so full of hate.

In the spirit of True Grit, the cutthroat days of the Wild West come to life for a new generation.

MY THOUGHTS

I've never read a novel set in the Wild West before, I'll confess that I'm really curious about that. I've read a lot of early reviews of this book, and so many people seemed to have loved it. I just want to jump on that train and see what it's all about.

Are you excited for these books (especially QoS)? What books are you most excited about this wednesday? Let me know!

Tuesday, 25 August 2015

Sunday, 23 August 2015

Review : Rook by Sharon Cameron

Title: Rook

Author: Sharon Cameron

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Release date: April 28th 2015

Goodreads summary: History has a way of repeating itself. In the Sunken City that was once Paris, all who oppose the new revolution are being put to the blade. Except for those who disappear from their prison cells, a red-tipped rook feather left in their place. Is the mysterious Red Rook a savior of the innocent or a criminal?

Meanwhile, across the sea in the Commonwealth, Sophia Bellamy’s arranged marriage to the wealthy René Hasard is the last chance to save her family from ruin. But when the search for the Red Rook comes straight to her doorstep, Sophia discovers that her fiancé is not all he seems. Which is only fair, because neither is she.

As the Red Rook grows bolder and the stakes grow higher, Sophia and René find themselves locked in a tantalizing game of cat and mouse.

REVIEW

"Have you ever though," he said after a moment, "that perhaps… all of this could have happened before? That the people of the Tome Before, no matter how weak we think them, that they were only making the mistakes of their ancestors, and that we, in turn, are only making the same mistakes as them? Technology or no? That the tome changes but people do not, and so we are never really moving forward, only around a bend? That the world only ever turns in circles. Do you think that could be so?"

I read this book as a part of the Perustopia Book Club, and I am not disappointed at all by this first choice of a book. First, I liked that it was a standalone, because there aren't so much of them out there-except in the contemporary genre, of course. In my opinion, this book was quite unique because it was a mix of a lot of good things (dystopia, history, adventure) and I'm sad I didn't hear anything about it before, more people should read it.

The Red Rook freeing prisoners made me think of a cloak and dagger novel, it led to such adventurous scenes. The plot was really interesting and well paced. I'm really happy about the world-building, the French revolution vibe felt so true to me, with the Razor being the guillotine, or even the dog being called St. Just (a friend of Robespierre!). It made me laugh that the Parisian was a language, because at some point in French history, it kinda was!

The characters were well-written, Sophia was one of this badass heroines that aren't helpless. It was really interesting that she thought of the after: what kind of life could she have, after all that adventures? It is a really important topic, because it's always hard to picture what the characters will be like when they'll be back to ordinary lives. It explains why she was so reluctant to marry René in the first place, even if it wasn't the only reason. She was also conscious of her own weaknesses, which I always like about a character-especially main characters.

For always being so assured of her own cleverness, Sophia Bellamy-she was discovering-could be extraordinarily stupid.

René was my favourite character in this novel. He wasn't at all what he seemed, everyone thought he just wanted to be the true Upper Parisian, when in fact he was just plotting as much as them. But even if he did, he always acted like a perfect gentleman, it was really entertaining.

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course not."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because you have a dagger in the inside pocket of your jacket."

I really shipped these two characters together. The romance was a part of the book, which was logical, but it wasn't overdone, because Sophia wasn't the kind of girl to dream of her prince charming.

She supposed she'd always thought of things like marriage and love as a trap, like René had said, something clever girls didn't let happen to them.

There was another love interest, who was pretty obvious but to Sophia, but he never really stood a chance, so it wasn't a love triangle. I really disliked him and I'm pretty sure the author wrote him this way on purpose, he was so possessive, overconfident on Sophia's feelings for him and wrong-like that we were supposed to like René. That was really manipulative but well done. Though, I found the way he finished pretty convenient, but I didn't care for him at all, so…

Overall, I really liked it and I'm a bit sad I didn't hear much about it when it first came out, but I think it might change a little. I was really happy to see this French revolution vibe to this book, I'm really cautious about French history usually, but here I have to congratulate the author for her job on this book. The characters were enjoyable, I developed a particular fondness for René. I will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

Rating: 4.5/5

What did you think about this book? If you haven't read it, are you interested?

Thursday, 20 August 2015

Review : White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements #1)

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release date: February 25th 2014

Summary: One kiss could be the last. Seventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal. But with a kiss that kills anything with a soul, she's anything but normal. Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities no one else possesses.

Raised among the Wardens—a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe—Layla tries to fit in, but that means hiding her own dark side from those she loves the most. Especially Zayne, the swoon-worthy, incredibly gorgeous and completely off-limits Warden she's crushed on since forever.

Then she meets Roth—a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know all her secrets. Layla knows she should stay away, but she's not sure she wants to—especially when that whole no-kissing thing isn't an issue, considering Roth has no soul.

But when Layla discovers she's the reason for the violent demon uprising, trusting Roth could not only ruin her chances with Zayne… it could brand her a traitor to her family. Worse yet, it could become a one-way ticket to the end of the world.

REVIEW

This book is a quick and light read, but I didn't like it very much. I loved the Lux series very much, mostly because contrary to a lot of YA urban fantasy, there wasn't any love triangle, because the books had other things to focus on. Here, I don't know where the plot was going, because there wasn't much that happened. I was curious to read the second book, Stone Cold Touch, but it was even worst (Layla was just wondering Roth or Zayne? All the time) and I ended up not finishing it because of this.

I couldn't connect with Layla, the main character. She was supposed to be the perfect girl and everything, but guess what, perfection doesn't exist. If you try to do perfection, it's boring. The two love interest were total clichés: the bad boy new in town and the perfect I've-always-been-there-for-you guy. Roth was alright and I think Armentrout did a great job at writing it, but I couldn't stand him for the part of Stone Cold Touch I read. I hated literally EVERYTHING about this love triangle. It seemed like this one was Roth's book, the next one will be Zayne's and in the last she will FINALLY choose.

It was original to choose gargoyles as the paranormal creatures, it really intrigued me from the beginning. But in the end… They are just other nephilims. Nevertheless, it was really unrealistic that the Wardens went public and no one seems to care. Really? Apart for the Children of God church, everyone is okay with it. Moreover, if the Wardens came out of the closet (haha), the demons could to, humans wouldn't be that shocked.

The end was quite unexpected (oh, look, something good), but not enough that I want to finish this trilogy...

For me, this book was mostly a compilation of clichés in YA. I'm starting to see a pattern in Armentrout's books (like these guys who are ALL so hot because… reasons) and I have a love/hate relationship with them. I loved the Lux series but Half-Blood was a retelling of Vampire Academy. I also really liked Don't Look Back. I'm really sad about this because I want so much to love her books.

Rating: 2.5/5

What do you think of JLA's books? Did you like this one?

Wednesday, 19 August 2015

Lair of Dreams | Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine where I discuss the upcoming releases for the following Tuesday that I'm most excited for.

Title: Lair of Dreams (The Diviners #2)

Author: Libba Bray

Publisher: Little, Brown for Young Readers

Release date: August 25th 2015

Goodreads summary: After a supernatural showdown with a serial killer, Evie O'Neill has outed herself as a Diviner. Now that the world knows of her ability to "read" objects, and therefore, read the past, she has become a media darling, earning the title, "America's Sweetheart Seer." But not everyone is so accepting of the Diviners' abilities...

Meanwhile, mysterious deaths have been turning up in the city, victims of an unknown sleeping sickness. Can the Diviners descend into the dreamworld and catch a killer?

MY THOUGHTS

I read The Diviners a few months ago, but I was eager to read the sequel, because it was such an amazing book, better than Gemma Doyle (even if I like it). The atmosphere was so compelling and creeps me out at times, because of Naught John. I like that this book is set in New York in the 1920s, years of glory for everything supernatural. I expect a lot from this book, I'm not gonna lie! I expect a good mystery as creepy as the last one, with great character development, because there is such an eclectic cast of characters. Moreover, this book was supposed to be released in May, so I want it now, I don't want to wait any longer.

Are you excited for this book? What books are you excited for this wednesday?

Let me know ;)

Tuesday, 18 August 2015

Top Ten of my Auto-Buy Authors | Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created by The Broke and the Bookish.

This auto-buy author concept is a little knew to me, because I have never considered I could buy anything one of my favourite authors could put into words. However, I think I can try to make a list, because I have auto-buy authors, even if I didn't know it.

SARAH J. MAAS

I think this is the most obvious one for me. Last year, I discovered the Throne of Glass series and I loved every single book of this series. Solid five stars for all of them. Then, I heard she was starting another series, A Court of Thorns and Roses. When it was released, I had no idea what it was about, but I bought it, ate it, loved it. Of course, I don't have any doubt about this author anymore and I think I can say I will buy every book she writes. Don't even get me started on Queen of Shadows, because I was in a bit of a reading slump, I only want to read it, these days.

MARIE LU

This is one of my special cases author. I read Legend in French, loved it so much I returned to the bookstore to buy Prodigy, read it, and then, I didn't know what to do. So I bought Champion in English, because I needed to know how it would end… I wasn't disappointed! It was one of my first gifts to myself for my birthday, haha. I loved the Young Elites, even though I wasn't as impressed as I was when I read Legend. I made my boyfriend read it and he totally loved it, I'm really proud about that. Now, I'm eagerly anticipating The Rose Society, did you see the cover? It is GORGEOUS.

VICTORIA SCHWAB

I discovered this author last year through The Archived and I was beyond excitement for the e-novella that was released this January, Leave the Window Open (Wesley's first name was revealed, can you believe it?). Then, I read Vicious and I was SO BLOWN AWAY. I think this is one of the best book I have ever read. After that, I bought A Darker Shade of Magic and then again BLOWN AWAY. It was such a unique novel and I loved every London and I can't wait for A Gathering of Shadows to come out! And I didn't even mention the 'book formerly known as Monster' aka This Savage Song.

CYNTHIA HAND

I think more people should read her books, because they are seriously fantastic. I remember how much I loved Unearthly, it is one of the best angel series I have ever read (with Angelfall). However, this author really blew me away with her latest novel, The Last Time We Say Goodbye. I know I've mentioned it before, because it made me cry so much and it rang so true. It is a novel revolving around suicide, a girl who has to go on with her life when her brother committed suicide. The author was this girl, at some point in her life and she was so good at putting it into words, that this story touched my soul.

MARISSA MEYER

I am so impressed with the Lunar Chronicles, this is a perfect mix between dystopia, science-fiction and fairy tale retellings. I have been waiting for Winter since I finished Cress last year, it is definitely my most anticipated release of 2015. I know that the author has other projects like Heartless and I can't wait to discover her through other stories and characters.

LEIGH BARDUGO

I was surprised by the Grisha trilogy, it has become one of my favourite YA high fantasy series. The first book in a spin-off duology, Six of Crows, will be released at the end of September, I'm really excited about that, it seems to have a great cast of characters and the early reviews really praised it. I will also reread the entire Grisha trilogy before Six of Crows comes out, because I miss the Darkling.

MORGAN MATSON

I think this is my favourite author of YA contemporaries. It's a bit sad she only has a book out every two years but they are all so good that it's alright. I loved the three books she wrote, when I didn't expect to. I'm really excited, because next year we will be in 2016, which means another book. *fangirls*

ALEXANDRA BRACKEN

The Darkest Minds is a really good dystopia and I'm so excited about Bracken's upcoming releases. First, there is a Star Wars retelling, I've never read that kind of things before, but I'm not afraid, because she wrote it. Moreover, people said she 'gets Star Wars', which means… It has to be good, right? Next year, Passenger will be out and it sounds sooooo good! It's about a violinist who has a time traveling gift and has to help people from another time period in order to get home but well, she might be falling in love.

VERONICA ROTH

I don't need to tell you what she wrote, don't I? I loved Divergent before the movie (btw I didn't like the Insurgent movie…), even if I was a little disappointed by Allegiant, because I expected SO MUCH MORE. But it doesn't matter, because I remember reading Divergent and Insurgent as if I couldn't get enough of them, and that's the best feeling a book can give you. I heard she's writing another series so yes, of course, I will read it.

TAHEREH MAFI

I loooved the Shatter Me trilogy and now it has been optioned to be a TV show! They'd better find a good Warner, or I'll scream. I had a hard time with the writing at first, but I'm used to it now. I heard the premise of her new novel, Furthermore, and it sounds really interesting.

What about you? Who are your auto-buy authors?

Let me know in the comments ;)

Sunday, 16 August 2015

Review : The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

Title: The Winner's Crime (The Winner's Trilogy #2)

Author: Marie Rutkoski

Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux

Release date: March 3rd 2015

Goodreads summary: Book two of the dazzling Winner's Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love.

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement... if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.

REVIEW

I'm kind of sad, because I didn't like this as much as the first one. I might be biased because I read it on a train and it was pretty uncomfortable so troubled my reading, but I don't think it was the only reason.

I really enjoyed the world in this one. We don't see much of Herran, because the plot was mainly set in Valoria's capital and in the east at some point. I really liked to see this world expanding a little, because I now have a better idea of it. I particularly liked the east setting and can't wait for Darna to play a bigger part in the next book (I hope).

This book was slow paced compared to the first book and I didn't really like it. Being in the palace and playing politics for a part of the book was good, but I truly wanted more action (it's rare that I say that). Now, don't get me wrong, I liked the plot and seeing everyone spying on everyone, but it felt more like a transition to the next book. Ugh, second book syndrome, I saw your spectrum.

I really liked Kestrel's character development, how she struggled with herself to try to do the right thing. I really liked that she seemed to be made to be empress, but the way she cared for people was her weakness. I enjoyed how she grew accustomated to Verex, in the end he was more like a friend.

I'm really intrigued about Risha now that we know a little of her backstory, I think we'll see her more (how, I don't know) and she'll be an important character.

At the end, I was so frustrated with Arin, because he never listens. He always says what he want without thinking about the consequences, then misunderstands what others say, then regrets. PLEASE JUST THINK FOR TWO SECONDS, WE ALL KNOW YOU'RE CLEVER. Hopefully, I'll only have to stand him in the Winner's Kiss and then it's over, I'm glad.

The romance wasn't a big part in the book, of which I'm glad, because Arin and Kestrel had trust issues with each other. Still, I really like them together, I can definitely feels something.

The ending redeemed this book, because I got a little bored at some point. It felt like everything was exploding. It ended on such a cliff-hanger that I want the third book now.

The plot was a little too slow for me and I was feeling that the story wasn't moving on, but the pace picked at the end and it was fantastic. I'm excited for the next one, because this one seemed to be a transition to something epic.

Rating: 3.5/5

What did you think about this book? Are you excited for the sequel? If you haven't started this series, are you interested in it?