Quick Review: Red Queen

Red Queen a very hyped, YA fantasy that I have been hearing a lot about and I was very excited to read it. It was not very impressed with the book. I didn't hate it, but I wasn't very interested in the story, nor was I engrossed with the characters, setting, or magic system, which are all integral parts of what makes a fantasy book a good fantasy book. 

The writing with very simplistic and easy to read. There wasn't a whole lot of depth in the characters. The "plot twist" was anticlimactic, when it should have been really cool and shocking. The main plot points and overall ambiance of the book held a lot of similarities with many other YA dystopians. A pretty girl goes from a thieving, poor background to becoming a princess in a couple of days (The Selection trilogy, anyone?). It felt very forced and unnatural that anything like that could have happened in such a strict society. 

Of course... of course... there was a love triangle. It was awful, and I hate that trope. The YA genre just continues to flog that trope, and it needs to stop. It wasn't executed very well. I didn't feel anything with Mare. It was very "telling instead of showing." (*Spoiler: At one point, Mare's brother dies. I don't feel like she was upset/angry about this, expect for texts that literally said that Mare was upset). 

There was an uprising from a group of rebels to take down the government (Hunger Games, Divergent, Red Rising, literally every other YA dystopian). Another trope used was how our protagonist is a new breed of human, that has never been seen before (Mistborn).

Overall, it was very simplistic and typical YA dystopian fantasy. There were a lot of re-used elements. I really hope it does get better. 

REVIEW: The Elite & The One

The Elite (The Selection #2) and The One (The Selection #3) by Kiera Cass
Published: April 2013 and June 2014 by HarperTeen
Genres: Young Adult, Dystopia, Romance, Chick Lit
Pages: 336 pages and 323 pages
Format: Hardcover
The Elite: 6/10 The One: 7.5/10

This review is a little different as I am putting two reviews into one! I basically marathon-read the entire The Selection trilogy in less than a week, so to me, the storyline was fluid and straightforward. I didn't feel that making two separate reviews would be wise, so I just made one! However, because I'm fresh off the feelings, this review will mostly be a rant.

WARNING: Spoilers! Everywhere, there are spoilers. I mean, it's the middle and last book of a series, what do you expect?

These are the last two books in The Selection trilogy!

I was surprisingly delighted with this short, sweet trilogy. It's not that well written, but boy, did these characters wheedle their way into my heart. By the last book, I was just overcome with the feels.

Rant #1: Let's start with The Elite, book two. This is probably my least favorite of the bunch, simply because the intensity of the awkward love triangle heightened. It was so forced and awkward in the first place, so when Aspen and America had their little lovey moments I was pretty much screaming. And how stupid is America? Letting him into her room and wearing his bracelet and ugh. Girl, c'mon. You love Maxon. It was pretty obvious from that America was going to choose Maxon from the first book, so every time she held back from Maxon because "oh but the tree house with Aspen!" was infuriating. Oh, you're "unsure", America? Really? And the copious amount of times that America cry's is astounding. I can't deal. She goes from being a strong protagonist to breaking down like a baby because a boy was acting kind of stoic or passive... I hated that.
Oh man, though. The Maxon/America romance and it's accompanying tension was good. The dynamic of America finding out that the King abuses Maxon and her cleaning his wounds was so tender and well done. I liked the tension of America catching Maxon with Celeste and discovering his deeper relationship with Kriss. It was a good wake-up call that Maxon was still a free man, and was being wooed by more women than America.
I enjoyed how the Rebels made the atmosphere more tense and serious. Discovering that Illea and the King are tyrants was a nice immersive bit.
Overall? It wasn't a bad sequel. It's sets up the situation for The One. I loved the romance and romantic tensions, but hated a lot of the poor character arcs. Still, I enjoyed it and read it in a day.

Rant #2: Finally, the last installment of The Selection, The Elite.
Oh. The. Feels.
Okay, I'm so happy with the ending. It was perfect, albeit there were some unnecessary deaths. I do wish that the death of The Queen was more emotional. All we got was "She was gonna let me call her mom. Sad face." I wish Celeste had lived, I honestly do. I would much rather have had Marlee die or something.
Speaking of Celeste, (what a segue), most of the character arcs were either weak, predictable or nonexistent. Celeste's was my favorite one by far. Her sudden death was so crippling because I was just starting to like her!
I didn't like the stereotyping of Elise's character. I liked her quiet and stoic nature, but get this: she's Asian and her sole character goal is to bring honor to her family. Really? It definitely bugged me.
I loved the rebels. Especially the uncovering of the rebels living amongst our familiar cast of characters such as America's dad and Kriss. I wish we got more of an inside look at the inner working of the Northern Rebels. Where did they get weapons? How do they communicate to far off allies? Who trained them? How does their base function without alerting the monarch? And more. I felt that breezing over these details wasn't a good idea. I feel like the novels would have been so much more interesting and intriguing if we got to find out more about the Rebels.
The dying letters written by Mr. Singer was so emotional and well done. I sort of had an inkling that he might die, as America depended on him so much. Still, his death and parting words were so touching.

Overall, I think that The Selection is a great trilogy. It's super girly, with some dystopian elements. I found myself really enjoying it and finishing the whole series in less than a week (four days). I recommend it to anyone looking for an easy, romance read!

REVIEW: Before I Fall

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Published: October 25th 2010 by HarperCollins

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction

Pages: 496 pages

Format: Paperback
Rating: 5/10
Description: For popular high school senior Samantha Kingston, February 12—"Cupid Day"—should be one big party, a day of valentines and roses and the privileges that come with being at the top of the social pyramid. And it is…until she dies in a terrible accident that night. However, she still wakes up the next morning. In fact, Sam lives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she ever imagined.

Hm. What a roller-coaster YA read!

The Characters? Honestly? I hated them. Especially, but not exclusively, in the beginning portion of the novel. I did not relate nor did I find any sort of remorse for these characters. I just got angry at the shallow, horrible, stereotypical popular high school girl protagonists and her similar friends.
They were also not too believable. I am a girl in high-school, and I've dealt with my fair share of mean girls. The blatant abuse and cruelty that Lindsay and the others committed is just not believable and it made it angry. Half of a school screaming "PHYSCO" at one girl who peed her pants is something out of a bad Teen Disney movie (I know that's not why they were screaming physco but that's essentially why she was ostracized in the first place). Not good.
HOWEVER, as the story progressed the characters did improve albeit only slightly. We got to see more dimensions from some characters and back stories, ect. This did help me care about the story more, but this was towards the end. For the majority of the book, I was frustrated at the characters. I loved Kent, hated Rob, hated hated HATED Lindsay, ect.

The Setting? Typical high school in a small town. The names for some of the areas in the high school were super relate-able and funny. For example, there's always that one restroom that no one goes to, and there's an area that is "designated" for smokers. I really did love Kent's house and it's descriptors.

The Plot? It was fairly slow and I rolled my eyes at some of the absolute mundane problems that high school girls often encounter. However, again, as the storyline progressed and the characters gained some depth, the plot did as well. It was super interesting to see how the series of circumstances changed. I genuinely felt a sense of loss every time the day rewound. I quite enjoyed the ended, I felt it was necessary for someone to die, and I was glad it ended that way.

Overall? I didn't really know what to expect before reading. Before I Fall isn't the greatest young adult novel I've read, but it was unique and stands out from other YA reads. While I personally was frustrated with the mostly one-dimensional characters and the fairly teeny bopper esque plot line, I was intrigued with the novel. I ended up reading this in one day. It's a very easy read despite it's bigger size.

Riley Rewind, because of it's extremely similar premise. Riley has the ability to change back time, much like in Before I Fall.
Riley, like Samantha Kingston, wants everything to be set right.
Riley Rewind is a great online series, it's on YouTube, so go check it out!
Watch RILEY REWIND.
(**Spoiler**: Also, both Riley and Sam are trying to stop someone from committing an inevitable suicide).

Groundhog Day because of the whole same-day-repeating-over-and-over thing.


Mean Girls because Before I Fall is chock full of mean girls that do cruel things to one another. There's also a fair share of humor, cliques, high school culture, ect. in both stories.

REVIEW: The Selection

The Selection (The Selection #1) by Keira Cass
Published: April 24th 2012 by HarperTeen
Genres: Young Adult, Dystopia, Romance, Chick Lit
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 7/10
Description: For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon. But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks. Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

Firstly, I just want to make a quick disclaimer. I came into this novel with absolutely no idea about the drama/controversy surrounding The Selection and the rest of the books in the trilogy. I did not read or watch any reviews about The Selection as I didn't want to spoil the story. My initial reaction was shock as I read negative review after negative review. I actually got kind of upset at the amount of mocking that was going on. I want my review here to be unaffected by other's views of the author, or their personal views of the story itself. Just for some clarity: I actually really enjoyed this book. It was highly entertaining. So, let's get reviewing! 

The Characters? America is a frustrating protagonist, but she was highly enjoyable to read about. She is quite selfish and I was always expecting her to do something great. I was really looking forward to some wonderful scene with her and her instruments. As music is her and her families' entire life, I thought that there would be a touching scene with her on her violin or something, but alas, there wasn't. The whole music thing is breezed over, which was disappointing. One annoying thing about America is that she seems to think, "I am in the fifth caste. These two's and three's are so spoiled. Wah." As if people should pity her, or that she's better than everyone else because she has survived through the most. It was quite annoying. 
I am not a fan of love triangles, and this triangle was particularly forced. It didn't bother me too much, though. I didn't care for Aspen, so I was rooting for Maxon most of the time. I think I've gotten to the point where love triangles have become so re-used that I can pretty much predict the outcome. Eh. 
The characters are predictable. Be warned. That doesn't mean that you can't be entertained by them. Don't expect super complex character arcs and motives, because that's not what you'll get. You will get spiteful girls vying for the title of princess, a charming prince, and a headstrong protagonist. It's predictable. But I enjoyed them! 

The Setting? It's in a dystopian world in a county called Illea, which has a monarchy. The world itself isn't too rich. We know that there is a war in New Asia, and there are disputes and rebels coming from the North and the South. For the most part, our setting is the castle. It's not too interesting. 

The Plot? Obviously by now you'll have figured out that The Selection isn't a masterpiece by any means. It is quite flawed. It's story-line isn't weaving and complicated. Rather, (much like the characters), it is predictable and at times underwhelming. However, again, I was thoroughly entertained the whole time. It was exactly what I expected! It's a light romance, with girly drama, a light romance, and some dystopian elements. It's like a guilty pleasure read; Like watching The Bachelor. 
The language is easy and the whole book took my roughly 3-4 hours to breeze through. I liked the simple and humor dialogue, the descriptions of the gorgeous dresses, gowns, and exploring the castle. 
A common critique of The Selection is that it's supposed to be a dystopian, but it's anything but. I will have to disagree. It's a pretty typical dystopian. You've got different groups of people organized by society. The rich are super rich, and the poor are super poor and are mistreated. There's a war raging on that we hear about briefly and there are rebels that are... well, rebelling! The dystopian elements are there, however poor they may be. It's still better than Divergent. 

Overall? I really, really enjoyed it. I can't lie. Those people who were expecting a deep, in-depth novel will be disappointed. But honestly? It's a book about girls trying to win the love of the prince and become a princess. It sounds shallow, right? Well, expect some shallow characters and plots. 
Technicalities aside, I was hooked to the story. It was easy to breeze through. I was interested the whole time. Of course, that is just my personal opinion. There are plenty of flaws, as in all other works of literature. This is a great, quick, girly read. 

The Bachelor because The Selection is about 35 young women trying to win over a prince. The Prince Maxon will periodically eliminate some of the candidates. Also, there's a weekly, televised update. I mean, it's dying to be a TV show. 

Ah, The Hunger Games and Divergent. Firstly, I HATE it when people compare books to these two powerhouses of teen dystopians. But, I did note some similarities simply with the system in which all three dystopian worlds are run. There are groups in which every citizen are sorted into. TGH has District, Divergent has factions, and The Selection has castes. The poor are mistreated, and are often starving. Also, American's family dynamic with her younger sister is like Katniss with her sister. There's a lottery to pick people. And who could forget the love triangles! Can't have a teen dystopian without one! The same old formula for dystopians. It's getting kind of old, really. 

Random side-note: I just imagined Sophie Turner (the lovely actress who plays Sansa Stark on GoT) as America the whole book. If this ever becomes a movie or TV show, I want her to play America. She's so precious and beautiful. I love Sophie Turner. Look at her! 

REVIEW: Sea of Shadows

Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong
Published: April 8th 2014 by HarperCollins
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult, Horror, Romance
Pages: 416
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 7/10
Quick Run-Down: In the Forest of the Dead, where the empire’s worst criminals are exiled, twin sisters Moria and Ashyn are charged with a dangerous task. For they are the Keeper and the Seeker, and each year they must quiet the enraged souls of the damned. Only this year, the souls will not be quieted. Ambushed and separated by an ancient evil, the sisters’ journey to find each other sends them far from the only home they’ve ever known. Accompanied by a stubborn imperial guard and a dashing condemned thief, the girls cross a once-empty wasteland, now filled with reawakened monsters of legend, as they travel to warn the emperor. But a terrible secret awaits them at court—one that will alter the balance of their world forever

This is a great young adult fantasy novel! It basically centers around twin sisters Moria and Ashyn. They are the Keeper and the Seeker (which reminds me way too much of Quidditch positions). They are in charge of quieting these angry souls/spirits.

The Characters? I loved the two sisters a lot... They had a really nice family dynamic. I preferred Ashyn over Moria, simply because I could relate to her more quiet, bookish nature over Moria's fiery and passionate nature. The two are very realistic sixteen year old's, despite the novel being a fantasy. I LOVED Ronan, he is so cute and funny. His lines made me laugh out loud. Gavril definitely annoyed me a little with his over-confident and cocky character, but he was intriguing and I wanted to know more about him. I liked the companion animals and their accompanying characteristics, too. 

The Plot? The plot was fairly slow, however I was kept entertained simply because of the world and the creatures which inhabited it. I mean, the parts with the legendary creatures were awesome. I was kept intrigued and breathless with the fight scenes with the shadow stalkers, thunder hawks, and death worms. I mean, those creature names alone intrigued me! The actual plot was pretty thin, and the "plot twist" at the end wasn't very shocking at all. The slow storyline progression didn't bother me at all, though, as I wanted to slowly venture through this world with Ashyn and Moria. I liked how they were discovering what the world looked like outside the Waste's the same time we discovered it.
It wasn't a super fast-paced read, but I kept thoroughly hooked the whole time.

What I didn't like was the lack of communication with the spirits. We didn't really get to see what Ashyn and Moria are supposed to do. We just know that they are highly respected.
Not a lot of people liked this book, which surprises me. I quite enjoyed it.

Supernatural, because of it's... well... Supernatural elements and creatures. Also, the dynamic between Ashyn and Moria reminded me of Sam and Dean. Sam and Ashyn are the quieter, more level-headed, bookish siblings, and Dean and Moria are the rash, fiery, warrior siblings. The relationships between Ashyn/Moria reminded me of the relationship between Dean/Sam.