Chaos of Stars

Author: Kiersten White

Release Date: September 10th, 2013
Publisher: Harper Teen 
Genre(s): YA Fantasy (Mythology)
Pages: 288
*stand alone*

Spoilers are hidden! Highlight the page to see them:) 

Summary (Goodreads):
Isadora’s family is seriously screwed up.

Of course, as the human daughter of Egyptian gods, that pretty much comes with the territory. She’s also stuck with parents who barely notice her, and a house full of relatives who can’t be bothered to remember her name. After all, they are going to be around forever—and she’s a mere mortal.

Isadora’s sick of living a life where she’s only worthy of a passing glance, and when she has the chance to move to San Diego with her brother, she jumps on it. But Isadora’s quickly finding that a “normal” life comes with plenty of its own epic complications—and that there’s no such thing as a clean break when it comes to family. Much as she wants to leave her past behind, she can’t shake the ominous dreams that foretell destruction for her entire family. When it turns out there may be truth in her nightmares, Isadora has to decide whether she can abandon her divine heritage after all.

Review:

That cover is gorgeous! (*.*) I’m totally star-struck. (Sorry couldn’t resist. xD  But really! That cover is seriously one of the most gorgeous covers I’ve seen all year.  I think it even beats House of Hades’s cover, which, as a diehard Riordan fan, admitting that is a crime punishable by being thrown into Tarturus.)

Now that cover in relation to the content… I think it was wasted on such a mediocre book.   >.<

I have iffy feelings about this book.  It was a nice story, but it wasn’t dazzling (see what I did there xD). A lot of my iffy feelings had to do with the insta-love and the plot itself (more on those later).     

This book was a little slow, and the blurb was definitely misleading. At first I had thought the book was about those ominous dreams the blurb had mentioned, but it was more focused on Isadora’s personal growth and her relationship with her family.  (I guess the “main” plot was about those dreams, but it really took a back seat compared to the focus on Isadora and her growth.)  I wasn’t sure if this lack of plot was a good thing or not because while I liked how the focus on family gave this book more depth than if it had been an “action” type novel, it made the ending so anticlimactic.  The story just died in the end (and no, this is not a spoiler).         

The best way to describe Isadora is to call her… a teen.  She epitomized the stereotypical, raging- hormones teen.  She was sarcastic, a bit of a rebel, very snarky, and irrational. But even with her loud personality, she was a forgettable character.  I can’t call her bland because she was feisty and snarky, but she just wasn’t memorable.  Nothing super special about her; she's just like one of the other hundreds of YA characters floating around in my head. 

How about the love interest, you ask?

 B-Orion-g. (xD Not the best pun, but whateves.  It's still a pun.  Did I mention I love lame puns?)

Even though I did think the connection between him and Isadora’s stars was cute, he wasn’t a good character at all (development wise and romance wise). He was certainly caring, but he was so bland.  Ry was the typical nice guy, and that’s about all I can really say about his personality.  It was also really random to learn those things about Ry’s heritage, and it didn’t make any sense. Just out of the blue, we are told Ry was also the son of Greek gods.  How was this relevant?  I had suspected something was off with Ry- there wasn’t a lot of explanation about him in the beginning- but this was totally random. 

Now onto the plot iffies.

Let’s start with a personal favorite (NOT) of mine:

Insta-love

I’m sorry, but whenever there’s an insta-love involved, and the book is in first person, I’ve decided to assume the worst about the love interest.  (Love is blind, no?)  For all we know, Isadora could be hallucinating (she thinks Egyptian gods are her parents), and he was actually just a figment of her imagination.  After all, he was always staring off into space.  Maybe that was symbolic of her drawing a blank in her mind or something.  I dunno.

 Another plot iffie was the lack of explanation on why Isadora was human. (And Isadora being human was a HUGE thing in this book.) I mean, shouldn’t immortal god+ immortal goddess= immortal child?  That didn’t really compute with me, and as far as I know, this book was a stand alone, so no potential sequel to explain that.

To wrap this review up, it was a nice story- don’t get me wrong. But I’d gone into it expecting- and wanting- a fun and rowdy story about a girl who has to deal with a crazy family of immortal gods (there was a crazy-as in leaps in logic/randomness- and there were gods, but nothing in this book was fun nor rowdy).  Though I did enjoy the little blurbs in the beginning of each chapter talking about the Egyptian gods (as well as Isadora’s snarky little twist to it), I wish there was more Egyptian culture in the book.  I mean, yes Isadora was Egyptian and her family was made up of immortal gods, but that was the extent of Egyptian influence in this book. 

Happy Readings!:) 

Rating: 2.5 out of 5   

Touch of Power

Author: Maria V. Snyder

Release Date: December 20th, 2011
Publisher: Mira
Genre(s): YA Fantasy
Pages: 390
*1st of series*

~Spoilers are hidden! Highlight the page to see them:)~ 

Summary (Goodreads):

Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan assumes their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Territories, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.

Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince—leader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for. Because the price of peace may well be her life...

Review: 

This book was interesting, certainly.  I love Maria Snyder (Poison Study was awesome!), but that ending (among other things, but mainly the ending) was what made this just a 3 star read.  

Let’s start with the characters.

 I felt Kerrick and Avry could be synonymous for Valek and Yelena (as well as Janco/Ari and the Monkey twins, but to be honest, I didn’t realize this until my friend pointed it out) .  Maybe it was just me, but I saw a lot of parallels (character-wise and relationship-wise) between them (like the age thing and the I-didn’t-really-give-you-hints-that-I-liked-you-but-I-suddenly-do thing).  At times I felt like Yelena could be narrating this because she and Avery were SO similar.  

Romance-wise the book was eh (it’s similar to Poison Study), but that wasn’t the point of the book, so it didn’t really bother me.  The world building’s a little shaky (we don’t get much description about the other types of magicians), but I’m sure the author will clarify all that up in the following books.   

Romance aside, what I really loved about this entire book was Avry and her boys (I need to think of a cute name for them.  Avry and her puppies? It’s lame, but I think it works lol).  Her relationship with them and the relationships among the puppies (xD) was the adorabliest thing ever!  From Poppa Bear to the Twin Monkey to Flea (</3), they slowly broke down Avry’s defenses and eventually became one big family. (Of course, until the author decided to FOR NO GOOD REASON SLAUGHTER SWEETIE PIE FLEA. But ya know, it’s all good …)  It was so sweet to see the bonds they formed and all their interactions, and you really feel for these people who’ve lost so much and yet remain so optimistic (except for Kerrick. I don’t think that guy has an optimistic bone in his body-which of course makes him the perfect foil for Belen. XD) 

I’m not going to spend much time on the villains, except to say I love the depth Snyder gave them.  They all had their motives, their good sides and bad, and it was satisfying to see villains who were portrayed as people with multiple sides.  (Yes, even creepy-psychotic Tohon.)

Okay now onto the bad bits. (I use the term “bad” loosely because the only “bad” was really the ending.  Everything else was just a little annoying, but not necessarily bad.  Just minor qualms.)

Though I admired Avry’s compassion for the people, I thought it was weird that she didn’t once complain about having to take on the diseases.  Scars as a symbol of pride were not weird at all, but the way she willingly took on the diseases without having even one selfish thought was really weird.  I mean, it was nice and all that she was so compassionate about people, and I get it would be annoying if she complained about it every single time, but I felt if she had been even a teensy bit resentful, it would have added more depth to her character.  Another qualm (I love that word!) was how deals/ contracts were made so easily and so peacefully. Avry agreed to the terms readily, it seems, and those deals ended with her staying with the villain (!). 

And finally that ending. 

I hate Deus ex Machinas (my list of pet peeves when it comes to books just keeps growing lol).  No matter how dire a situation is, no matter how much I want the ending to be happy, I believe it’s always  best to end the story in a realistic manner (as realistic it gets in a fantasy world) and keep the flow, rather than pull a Deus ex Machina.  Besides the non-realistic thing (which is usually really flexible in fantasy, but still), it was too neat, too convenient.  It made the book anti-climatic, and ultimately, this turned me off from reading the rest of the series.  I’m just not really anticipating the next books in this series anymore.  (I will, of course, still read Snyder's other books, and maybe in the future I might pick this series up again, but for now...)  

Final thoughts?  It was a good read, but the ending fell flat, as well as a few qualms about similar characters. 

Thanks for reading!

 Rating: 3 out of 5

Elsewhere

Author: Gabrielle Zevin 
Release Date: September 9th, 2005
Publisher: Square Fish 
Genre(s): YA Contemporary?  (This book was hard to place because it feels/reads like a contemporary, but it's about a girl's life in heaven.  I guess it could also be considered Fantasy?)
Pages: 277
*Stand alone*

Summary (Goodreads):

Welcome to Elsewhere. It is warm, with a breeze, and the beaches are marvelous. It’s quiet and peaceful. You can’t get sick or any older. Curious to see new paintings by Picasso? Swing by one of Elsewhere’s museums. Need to talk to someone about your problems? Stop by Marilyn Monroe’s psychiatric practice.

     Elsewhere is where fifteen-year-old Liz Hall ends up, after she has died. It is a place so like Earth, yet completely different. Here Liz will age backward from the day of her death until she becomes a baby again and returns to Earth. But Liz wants to turn sixteen, not fourteen again. She wants to get her driver’s license. She wants to graduate from high school and go to college. And now that she’s dead, Liz is being forced to live a life she doesn’t want with a grandmother she has only just met. And it is not going well. How can Liz let go of the only life she has ever known and embrace a new one? Is it possible that a life lived in reverse is no different from a life lived forward?

Review:

I’ve only read one another book written by this author- Memoir’s of a Teenage Amnesiac- and that was an “eh” read for me as well.   Maybe it’s because I had high expectations for both books.  Both of them had extremely interesting premises, which was why they had both been on the top of my to-read list.  (I finally found Elsewhere at my school library, hidden behind two Twilight books (don’t judge! I wanted to reread Cinder by Marissa Meyer).  I know- I was confused too.)  And both were huge letdowns- at least in my opinion.

Elsewhere was very interesting (the concept and the world), but half the book was bland, while the other half was rushed.  After a certain point, we only see pieces of her life until she finally becomes age 0 and goes back to Earth.  It skipped around a lot, and I really didn’t like that effect because I felt the last third or so of the story was like a summary, rather than a story. 

I guess my problem with this entire book was that the story telling was very detached and shallow (not personality wise, but depth wise).  I expected more out of this book emotionally, and while at the very, very, very end, I had a slight twinge of melancholy, 99% of the book I was just reading it to get to the end.  The tone of the entire book was like:

Liz did this. 

Liz did that.

This is Owen. 

Owen wants a dog.

 I felt no connection to the characters, and I had no sympathy for Liz.  I felt the author could have portrayed Liz better.  I understood her intent was sympathy and understanding from us readers, but Liz came across as annoying and a bit bratty.  She spent a lot of money- lying to Betty even to get that money- just staring at her old life from a far.   Call me heartless, but during that phase, all I could think about was the money wasting.  And there was a lot of telling rather than showing.  I believe every single character had a detailed profile that told us everything about them, instead of us- the readers- getting to know them through their actions and interactions.  I can’t say the characters were cardboard because I got to know them quite well, but it was like reading a straightforward biography about them.  The characters themselves hardly had any emotions as well, which made for a boring read.

The romance was very awkward, not only because of the age thing, but also because it was very abrupt. (Granted, the book was not about the romance, but still.)  The author gave us maybe one chapter on their flirting, if you could even call it that.  It was just them hanging out together so Liz would learn how to drive.  Later, they have an awkward confession, and all of a sudden, they love each other.  (The romance was bordering on insta-love, but at this point, I didn’t care enough for any of the characters to be too peeved about it.)  I wished the author didn’t include the romance in the book because it felt very forced, and I felt it really undermined the message of the book.

Undeniably, the premise was interesting, but the writing and the story falls flat.  One thing I did enjoy was Alvy and Liz’s relationship with each other after her death.  It was very sweet, and I wish the rest of the book could have been like this: sweet, but melancholy. 

Happy Readings~!

Rating: 2 out of 5

The Birthday Ball

Author: Lois Lowry 
Release Date: April 12th, 2010
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers 
Genre(s): Middle Grade Fantasy (Fairy Tale) 
Pages: 192
*Stand alone*

Summary (Goodreads):
Princess Patricia Priscilla is bored with her royal life and the excitement surrounding her sixteenth birthday ball. Doomed to endure courtship by three grotesquely unappealing noblemen, she escapes her fate—for a week. Disguised as a peasant, she attends the village school as the smart new girl, Pat,” and attracts friends and the attention of the handsome schoolmaster. Disgusting suitors, lovable peasants, and the clueless king and queen collide at the ball, where Princess Patricia Priscilla calls the shots. What began as a cure for boredom becomes a chance for Princess Patricia Priscilla to break the rules and marry the man she loves.

Review:

I loved this book! It was a quick and easy read, but it had a whole bunch of SAT words scattered in it, especially when Princess Pat talked to her cat (who knew there were so many words that rhymed with Delicious?).

The plot was generally predictable, but it was a sweet story and has your typical fairytale feel to it. It was mostly about Princess Pat and her search for adventure in a schoolhouse, but Lois also gave the other minor characters a voice too (in the case of the triplets, a singing voice!), which I appreciated, because it made all of them very memorable (especially Liz and Duke Desmond. They were just adorable!). 

I loved all the really awkward interactions Princess Pat had with the schoolmaster. It was super cute. Princess Pat is a little bit insensitive, and the story seemed a little rushed (it's a middle grade novel after all!:)), but overall, I really liked it. I haven't read such a light and cute tale in a long time!!:)

Thanks for reading!

Rating: 3 out of 5

The King's Damosel

Author: Vera Chapman

Release Date: April 28th, 1978 

Publisher: Avon

Genre(s):  Fantasy, Arthurian (*Note: I don't really categorize this as YA, but some people might consider it YA because the heroine is in her late teens)

Pages: 143 

*2nd book of a series*

*Spoilers are hidden! Highlight the page to see them!:)~*

Summary (Goodreads):

A magical glimpse into the legendary age of Arthurian chivalry.

Lynett, unwilling bride of the Round Table Knight, Gaheris, leaves her husband and the true love of her life, his brother Gareth, to become the King's messenger.

Knightly chivalry is beset by Dark Age barbarity in this richly woven tapestry of heroes and heroines, monsters and saints, temptresses and magicians.

Review: 

I admit my guilt: I watched the movie before I read the book.   Granted, the movie was VERY loosely based on the novel, so I guess my crime is justified ;).  I won’t really compare the book and the movie because, as said before, the movie was VERY VERY loosely based. (But as a side note, I really liked the movie :)).

This novel was a beautiful tale, sad and hopeful all at the same time.   It was told much like a myth or a fairytale, which means it’s very simple and smooth flowing.  I had no issues with this novel other than wanting it to go more into detail about the adventures Lynett had with the knights; their bond with each other was cute, but I think it would have been more aww- inducing if we had seen more of their tales (instead of a brief overview).  (But that’s just a minor, minor complaint.  I really loved this book overall!) 

I appreciated all the messages in this Arthurian tale (the strong feminist theme, learning about true love, and forgiveness- to name a few:)).   l adored watching Lynett grow from this insecure tomboy to a confident young woman who eventually understood love.    Her relationship with Lucius was so sweet and heartbreaking; it’s impossible not to root for them (given what had happened to Lynett earlier and Lucius’ own circumstances), and at the end when he makes the most romantic yet devastating choice, it’s hard to hold back a few tears. (WHY COULDN’T THE BOOK HAVE BEEN LIKE THE MOVIE ;(?)

Overall, it was a beautiful read, and I recommend it to anyone looking for an Arthurian tale with a feminist kick.

Thanks for reading!:)   

Rating: 3 out of 5 

When the Sea is Rising Red

Author: Cat Hellisen

Release Date: February 28th, 2012

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Genre(s): YA Fantasy/ Paranormal  

Pages: 296

*Stand alone*

Summary (from Goodreads):

After seventeen-year-old Felicita’s dearest friend, Ilven, kills herself to escape an arranged marriage, Felicita chooses freedom over privilege. She fakes her own death and leaves her sheltered life as one of Pelimburg’s magical elite behind. Living in the slums, scrubbing dishes for a living, she falls for charismatic Dash while also becoming fascinated with vampire Jannik. Then something shocking washes up on the beach: Ilven's death has called out of the sea a dangerous, wild magic. Felicita must decide whether her loyalties lie with the family she abandoned . . . or with those who would twist this dark power to destroy Pelimburg's caste system, and the whole city along with it. 

~Spoilers are hidden! Just highlight the page if you want to see them:)~

Review:

       I didn’t hate this book, but I didn’t like it either.  My main issue with this book was the lack of information about ANYTHING.  There was a lot of things (character nationality especially) that was not explained.  It seemed like the author was trying to avoid info dumping, but in her quest to do so, she leaned way too far on one side of the spectrum of info dumping and no info.  It was super distracting and confusing. (I had to reread some parts of the book to get a more detailed view of the plot.)  

Felicita (or Firell) was a meh character.  I felt like the author was trying to force us to like her, when in reality there was nothing about her to like.  She’s a bit shallow, but she does change somewhat throughout the novel, so that wasn’t really a major issue for me.  Felicita is a frustrating character.  She’s so dumb naïve.   Honestly, she makes the most thoughtless choices, and when there’s an easy out, she doesn’t take it.  She doesn’t really think about the alternative (and quite possibly reasonable) solutions either. 

The romance between Dash and Felicita was really rushed and abrupt, and I don’t know what the deal is with Felicita and Jannik (all of a sudden they’re married at the end?).  The plot was okay; again, I had a hard time following it because of the lack of explanations or info. 

Overall, this book was confusing, which distracted me from the characters and the great plot everyone seems to be referencing.  However, I did give it a two because it did keep me somewhat engaged (though for the life of me, I don’t remember what was so interesting about it.   Probably the hope that something would be explained later on?). 

Thanks for reading~!

Rating: 2 out of 5

The Demon King

Author: Cinda Williams Chima 

Release Date:  October 6th, 2009

Publisher: Hyperion Books

Genre(s): YA Fantasy   

Pages: 506

*1st book of a series*

Summary (from Goodreads):
One day Han Alister catches three young wizard setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea. Han takes an amulet away from Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard, to ensure the boy won’t use it against him. The amulet once belonged to the Demon King, who nearly destroyed the world a millennium ago. With a magical piece so powerful at stake, Han knows that the Bayars will stop at nothing to get it back.

Meanwhile, Princess Raisa ana’Marianna has her own battle to fight. She’s just returned to court after three years of riding and hunting with her father’s family. Raisa aspires to be like Hanalea, the legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world. But it seems that her mother has other plans for her—plans that include a suitor who goes against everything the Queendom stands for.


The Seven Realms will tremble when the lives of Han and Raisa collide in this stunning page-turner from best-selling author Cinda Williams Chima.

~Spoilers are hidden- just highlight the page to see them!:)~

Review:
I actually really liked this book... until I started noticing the Harry Potter similarities. Like Han and Harry, Micah and Malfoy. The 2 ginger cousins of Micah. The (almost) magical showdown between the two I think this one was actually in the second book, the Exiled Queen). Han not discovering his powers until a certain age and then sent to school to learn about his magic. And instead of wands, we have amulets.

I was never a great fan of Harry Potter (*cowers in corner from glares of Harry Potter Fans*)simply because I didn't like JK rowling's style. (Don't get me wrong: she's a brilliant writer- just not my type of writer I guess lol.) But still, the Harry Potter parallels were striking, even to a non Harry Potter reader. (I just read the first book and then watched the movies.)

My only MAJOR complaint would be Raisa. I just didn't get her. It seemed to me she fell in love with a lot of guys really fast. It doesn't help her case that she can be really irritating at times.  

The rest of the characters, Amon, Han, Firedancer, were all okay but I didn't really connect with any of them. I don't mean to sound like a soul less monster, but when Han's family died, I didn't feel any pang I usually do when anyone dies in a book. It was more of like, "Ok, they died, now what?" (And I'm pretty sure a lot of us knew they were going to die sooner or later- which kind of blunted the blow. But still.)

The plot was intriguing, but the nonstop action and the drama was really tiring at times.  

Overall, I found myself skipping over some parts in the book without regret because, to be honest, some parts were kind of dull. The parts I didn't skip over, I enjoyed a lot.

Simple as that. 

Thanks for reading!~

Rating: 3 out of 5

Princess of the Midnight Ball

 

Author: Jessica Day George

Release Date:  January 20th, 2009

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Genre(s): YA Fantasy (Retelling of a Fairy Tale)  

Pages: 280

*Part of a series: 1st book*

Summary (Goodreads):

Galen is a young soldier returning from war; Rose is one of twelve princesses condemned to dance each night for the King Under Stone. Together Galen and Rose will search for a way to break the curse that forces the princesses to dance at the midnight balls. All they need is one invisibility cloak, a black wool chain knit with enchanted silver needles, and that most critical ingredient of all—true love—to conquer their foes in the dark halls below. But malevolent forces are working against them above ground as well, and as cruel as the King Under Stone has seemed, his wrath is mere irritation compared to the evil that awaits Galen and Rose in the brighter world above. 


Captivating from start to finish, Jessica Day George’s take on the Grimms’ tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses demonstrates yet again her mastery at spinning something entirely fresh out of a story you thought you knew.

Review:

 Eeeee! I'm such a sucker for fairy tales.  Galen is so swoon worthy;)

     I really like this book; it's so pretty, both the content and writing style.  It's simple, yet it feels like a gentle waltz to read-which is really appropriate, considering this book is about dancing.  Galen is pretty sweet, with his values of respecting girls and elders, and treating each princess, even the younger set, with a lot of care and compassion.  He's a total prince charming, even if he is a soldier.  I might complain about his perfectness, but, hey, this IS a fairytale.

     I LOVE how this book didn't focus on the romance; it w's more focused on the girls and Galen finding out the truth about the girls.  It may seem odd, considering this is a retelling of a fairy tale, but it worked lovely. The romance part is the growing attraction between Galen and Rose; however, it's addressed in spurts throughout the book (the moments are small enough that they feel sweet and discrete, but big enough you know they like each other).

     All the little quirks and relationships with each sister Rose has is very sweet.  They really care for each other, and all their interactions add to that.

    It's hard to connect with the characters because this book does read like a fairytale, obviously (you love them, but you leave them after they live happily ever after).  Otherwise, I really don't have other complaints. (The only reason this book doesn't merit a higher rating, is because this book wasn't very memorable.  It's one of those books I read and forget the title, but not the gist of the story.)

Definitely recommended to fans of Gail Carson Levine!!

Thanks for reading~:)

Rating: 2.5 out of 5