REVIEW: Blackout

Blackout by Chris Myers
Genres: New Adult, Romance, Thriller/Mystery, Contemporary
Published: April 2015 by Chris Myers
Pages: 400
Format: Kindle Edition
Rating: 5.5/10
Description:  No restraining order will stop Dare from protecting Teal. The blackouts started happening when Teal was eight. There are long periods of her youth she doesn't remember. She has woken up in strange places, feeling disoriented and unaware of how long she's been out. After two years abroad attending a private school and sessions with a top-notch psychiatrist, she's been deemed cured. The blackouts have ceased, or so Teal thought, until she wakes up in a ditch back home in North Carolina. Dare, the man pulling her broken body from the wreckage, has a restraining order against him. He’s no longer the clean-cut boy she went frog gigging with but road-hardened. His lean, muscular arms, riddled with tats, drag her out of the SUV. She should fear him, but instead, his touch sparks memories that tell her she once worshiped him with all her heart.

Blackout is a physiological thriller, a romance, a mystery book all rolled into a New Adult format. It was a very interesting book that had a compelling premise. There is a great romance and a lot of cool physiological aspects. There is a fantastic, dark mystery that we get to explore, limited by our protagonist's memory loss. However, I found that a lot of potential was lost with the book as I found a couple problems with it.

Let's start with the good. The ambiance was executed very well. The unease and disquiet of an unfinished mystery in this town is definitely exemplified through the writing. The murder story that we only receive bits and pieces of throughout the book keep the story interesting and thrilling. It was much like a "whodunit." The narrative was engaging. The wrap-up in the end was very well done, bringing all the pieces and clues together to form a shocking and satisfying conclusion. The romance was steamy and passionate, and I did enjoy the relationship of Dare and Teal. I always looked forward to those scenes.

Some of the problems I found with the book was mostly to do with the characters. Most, if not all, of the characters were very flat and static, most of the supporting characters were just flat out stereotypes. Our protagonist, Teal, is a very typical "girl-next-door-turned-hot" character. I was annoyed with her at times by her ignorance to how attractive she is. Literally, every man she sees hits on her and she get's embarrassed and blushy every time. Her character was not very believable at all. Also, many of her decisions were pretty dumb. (*Spoilers: Her arm is broken and she decides to drive a car! She found out a boy got slaughtered and she goes to a distanced swamp with only one other person as protection! She knows she has a stalker and she walks home alone in the dark!)
There were a lot of potential side story lines that I felt could have made the story much richer.

I found that the book was very heavily focused on physical appearance, which did take away a lot from the story itself. Teal is beautiful, Dare is beautiful, Graham is beautiful, Kami is beautiful, everyone is beautiful and attractive, and there would be pages and pages going on about how pretty every character is. This did take away from actual character building for me. The characters turned into nothing more than there appearance. The Tuckers were nothing more than the hot family. There are also a lot of cat calls and just random compliments that are thrown at Teal which seem misplaced and odd. It just felt weird for me and that did distract me from the story.

Overall, Blackout is a strong book in terms of the setting, the ambiance, and the story line, but weak in terms of character building. There was a great accompanying romance, however the dialogue and personas in the book fell flat for me. There is a lack of deep or believable characters. Blackout is recommended to those who wish to read a New Adult with some suspenseful elements.

*I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.*

REVIEW: Confessions of a Paris Potty Trainer

Confessions of a Paris Potty Trainer by Vicki Lesage

Genres: Humour, Memoir
Published: May 2014 by CreateSpace
Pages: 232
Format: E-Book, Paperback
Rating: 6/10 
Description: 

Diapers, tantrums, and French bureaucracy--the crazy life of an American mom in Paris.
Former party girl Vicki trades wine bottles for baby bottles, as this sassy mommy of two navigates the beautiful, yet infuriating, city of Paris.
How does she steer a stroller around piles of dog poop? Or find time for French administration between breastfeeding and business meetings? And will she ever lose the baby weight with croissants staring at her from every street corner?
This hilarious memoir will have you laughing, crying, and wiping up drool right alongside Vicki as she and her ever-patient French husband raise two children in the City of Light.

Confessions of a Paris Potty Trainer is an extremely well-structured and fun memoir that details an American woman living in Paris with her husband and starting a family- a wonderful premise. 

The story of the ups and downs of starting a family and finding an apartment was so great. 

For the most part, I did enjoy the more rambley parts of the novel, where LeSage goes off about something. She is a pretty analytic and a workaholic-type person, so some of stream-of-consciousness sections where she goes off about taxes or systems or something was off-putting. I'm personally not that technical or that inclined to mathematics and what not, so others may have enjoyed her technical rambles more than I personally did, but I digress. 

This memoir reads very much like a story, so if one hasn't read a memoir before, this is a pretty nice transition between fictional stories to real memoirs.

I wish that this book had more detail about the setting, because Paris is a wonderful place. I loved the sections discussing how small everything is (women, apartments, babies, ect.), however, I do wish there was more descriptions of Paris itself. Of course, it is a memoir so that doesn't really take anything away from the story itself.

Her voice is strong and often times, hilarious. I believe she captured the crazy mindset of a very pregnant women perfectly, as well as the American adjusting the a Parisian lifestyle. Her take on life and humans was poignant and funny.

Overall, if you are looking for a memoir encapsulating a woman's life in Paris and her journey to become a mother, this is a great memoir for you. It reads easily, like a story, with plenty of funny accounts to keep it interesting. Recommended.

*I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.*

Quick Review: Yes Please

Yes Please by Amy Poehler

Goodreads Updates: 

02/05	marked as:	currently-reading
02/05	page 60		18.0%	"First audiobook of the year!"
02/05	page 60		18.0%	"First audiobook of the year!"
02/07	page 60		18.0%	"Kinda jumps around a lot but Amy is hysterical!"
02/07	marked as:	read

Yes Please is my first audio book of 2015! Last year is when I discovered the joys of audio books and I am definitely planning on listening to alot more. Amy Poehler is, of course, absolutely hysterical in this book and she does have a really fascinating life. She includes touching stories, helpful advice, and provides lots of laughs. 

This book did have alot of laughs, however. The structure was pretty much non-existent. Poehler jumped around alot between being a college student, to being in the prime of her career, to being a child, to being in her prime again. It did get confusing. 
But the book was hysterical and had alot more then I anticipated. The audiobook has a small organ song, readings from other people such as Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler's parents, a live-reading, and even excerpts from Park and Rec. These little tidbits definitely made me love the book even more.
Yes Please was not a perfect book, nor was it the greatest auto-biography that I have read/listened to, but it was highly enjoyable and Amy Poehler is such a wonderful human that you can't help but love her. 

Quick Review: Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock

[Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick]

GoodReads Updates:

01/19	marked as:	currently-reading
01/19	page 10		3.0%	"Just started! Citations are hard to get used to, but intriguing opening! #BOTB1"
01/19	page 10		3.0%	"Just started! Citations are hard to get used to, but intriguing opening! #BOTB1"
01/21			40.0%	"Got used to the citations pretty quickly. The futuristic emails are SO intriguing and although I find some of Leonard's ideas very whiny and privileged, most of them are so insightful and thought-provoking."
01/24	marked as:	read

Great, haunting read from Matthew Quick. I LOVED The Silver Linings Playbook, so I expected a lot from the YA, and I was not disappointed. A word of caution, however. I wouldn't recommend this for  those who are struggling with serious depression or are suicidal, because a lot of Leonard's thoughts and ideas and his very detached nature are very triggering. If you can stomach that, this is a very thought-provoking book. There are many things that I disagree with Leonard about and there were times in the novel that I felt that Leonard was just a very privileged, cynical young man. He does a lot of stupid stuff. But overall, his ideas and musings about the world are very intelligent and shocking. Some of Leonard's large rants were observant and real enough that I had to stop and examine my own life a well as others around me. It is a very important book. Quick has the prose of a sad yet highly intelligent youth down pat. Matthew Quick is pretty brilliant, indeed.  

REVIEW: Mistborn

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson 

Genres: Fantasy, Adult
Published: July 2006 by Tor Fantasy
Pages: 657 
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Rating: 10/10 
Description: Once, a hero arose to save the world. A young man with a mysterious heritage courageously challenged the darkness that strangled the land.
He failed.
For a thousand years since, the world has been a wasteland of ash and mist ruled by the immortal emperor known as the Lord Ruler. Every revolt has failed miserably.
Yet somehow, hope survives. Hope that dares to dream of ending the empire and even the Lord Ruler himself. A new kind of uprising is being planned, one built around the ultimate caper, one that depends on the cunning of a brilliant criminal mastermind and the determination of an unlikely heroine, a street urchin who must learn to master Allomancy, the power of a Mistborn.

Brandon Sanderson is consistently receiving shining reviews from me because he consistently pumps out amazing books. I've read some other books by him, but clearly not enough. Mistborn was an amazing read and is by far my favourite read of 2015 so far! 

The world-building is to die for. The city of Luthadel and its outlying regions were described so vividly, yet just subtle enough that it didn't take away from the plot of the story. From the ash, to the plantations, to the deep pits and beyond, the world was beautifully crafted and my whole reading experience was very immersive and wonderful. 

This being said, the magic system in this novel is absolutely top. While there were lovely, slower-paced parts in which I got lots of back-story and lore that enhanced my experience (such has Sazeed's parts concerning religion and the log book), and there were also these crazy, action-packed scenes which I believe Sanderson writes beautifully. Sanderson is so good at writing action scenes that feel like a movie in my mind. The physics and science is accounted for as well, keeping the magic system both exciting and complex. 

The characters were so lovable and had so many layers of depth. It wasn't always good vs. bad, there was a lot of overlap. The motivations of each character weren't always obvious and often there were hidden reasons for why characters did what they did. Kelsier, the mythic rebellion leader, with this charismatic and easy-to-love nature had inner demons, our protagonist Vin still surprised me with her backstory and her personality. Mistborn has a colourful troop of characters, each of them are diverse and interesting.

Also, possible spoilers, but the last 100 pages or so had SO MANY TWISTS AND TURNS. I gasped and cried and yelled and laughed. Everything came together, and then fell apart, and then a huge secret was revealed that made so much sense, then everything was destroyed again. I left Mistborn so satisfied. Brandon Sanderson is a WIZARD. That's the only explanation. How does someone create such vividly beautiful yet subtle and clever works consistency without magic? Perhaps he is using some form of literary Allomancy. Whatever it is, I need to go read more. I cannot recommend Mistborn more. 

Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss simply because of the beautiful prose and the scientific and intricate magic systems built up in both books.

REVIEW: Drag Racing’s Quarter-Mile Warriors

Drag Racing's Quarter Mile Warriors by Doug Boyce  
Genres: Technology, Non-Fiction, Cars
Published: CarTech, August 22, 2014
Pages: 192 pages  
Format: Paperback
Rating: 8.5/10
Description: Drag Racing's Quarter-Mile Warriors: Then and Now takes a unique look at the most memorable, interesting, and successful cars from this golden age of drag racing.

Drag Racing’s Quarter-Mile Warriors by Doug Boyce is a high-quality, highly informative, and overall fantastic book. I myself am not a drag racing buff, although I can marvel at some amazing cars. My father is pretty into it, and has some vintage car models on display, and a friend of mine is pursuing a career in car stunt driving, so I am pretty exposed to the world of cars.
I am very impressed with this book, which is pretty much a plethora of gorgeous pictures and fascinating information about the history of drag racing, as well as iconic dragsters, and influential drivers. It was super to get into, with easy-to-understand passages, and glossy, vibrant photographs, it was an absolute joy to flip through this book.

While it is pretty easy to read through, the detail that went into the information was not abused. The comprehensive history behind the evolution n of the cars and the sport, was impressive. One can tell that Doug Boyce did his research, and his passion for it really does shine through. Boyce does an excellent job in telling the history and current whereabouts of ionic drag cars, and explaining all the details. The updates as to where these legendary classic cars are at today were an awesome touch!

This is a great, high-quality, and interesting book. It can be a nice coffee table book, for guests to pursue, or a great addition to a vast drag-racing library. Doug Boyce did a great job with this book! I recommend it to everyone who would like a glimpse at the interesting history of drag-racing, and especially to the drag racing buffs out there; it would be a huge treat to those!


 This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Thank you!

REVIEW: Eve & Adam

Eve & Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate
Published: October 2nd 2012 by Feiwel & Friends

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance, Dystopia

Pages: 291 pages

Format: Hardback
Rating: 2/10
Description: In the beginning, there was an apple— And then there was a car crash, a horrible injury, and a hospital. But before Evening Spiker’s head clears a strange boy named Solo is rushing her to her mother’s research facility. There, under the best care available, Eve is left alone to heal. Just when Eve thinks she will die—not from her injuries, but from boredom—her mother gives her a special project: Create the perfect boy. Using an amazingly detailed simulation, Eve starts building a boy from the ground up. Eve is creating Adam. And he will be just perfect... won’t he?

I have almost nothing good to say about this book. It was just so lackluster: there was zero world-building, the characters were extremely shallow, the plot/premise was unoriginal; it lacked passion! 

The Characters? They were shallow, one-dimension, and just dumb. I didn't feel or relate to these characters, instead, I felt like I was watching two pieces of rocks communicate and interact. There was too much telling instead of showing. If Eve's leg hurts, the text will say, "Ouch, I lost my leg, and it hurts." If Eve thinks a boy is attractive, the text will say, "I think this boy is attractive. He has blue eyes. He's perfect." It was so frustrating and annoyingly simple. This wouldn't even be good enough to be considered a junior fiction novel, much less a young adult novel.
The Setting? Maybe this story would be a tad more engaging if there was even a small shred of world building. However, there isn't. Again, there is so much telling, not enough showing.
The extent of the setting descriptions are, "We are in San Francisco. There's a bridge." This is set in a dystopian world. It didn't really know what world it wanted to be in. First, we think it's futuristic with fantastic new technology, but then it goes back to being present day, it was very annoying. 

The Plot? Unoriginal, lackluster. There was insta-love, a love triangle (every YA dystopian needs one!), and the writing that went with it was amateur at best. There was no depth. 
There was some slut-shaming as well. Terra constantly refers to Aislin as a "drunken slut." There is also some uncomfortable and out-of-place pedophilia as two grown scientesits talk about a 16-year-old in a sexual manner:

"You haven't tapped that little piece yet? She's no great beauty, but she's cute enough, and she's got a nice little body."
"I'd do her, " Dr. Chen says.

In conclusion, I don't recommend this book to anybody, unless one is in desperate need for a sub-par YA dystopian novel. It's a super quick read, taking me under 2 hours or so. 

When I found out it's a series, I honestly was like:


Dear publishers, please stop it with the whiny teen dystopians. Enough.

REVIEW: The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend

The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Jody Keplinger
Published: September 2010 by Little Brown/Poppy

Genres: YA, contemporary, romance

Pages: 280 pages

Format: Hardcover
Rating: 5/10 
Description: Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face. But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him. Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

I would describe the characters in The DUFF similar to how Toby describes the characters in Wuthering Heights... "atrocious and spoiled and selfish." Not to mention dumb, one-dimensional, and just insufferable. Bianca is an insufferable protagonist. Not only is she overwhelmingly cynical and critical and a grade A hypocrite, but she's a horrible friend! She constantly lies to her friends, contradicts herself, and flat out ignores her father when he is relapsing. I mean, dude, Bianca... call someone! Do something! Don't just tiptoe by! The escapism sex was super unrealistic and just annoying and obviously infuriating. 
 

The mindless and utter objectifying and labeling in this novel really got to me. It was pretty offensive. There's a lot of catty talk with the words "slut" and "whore" getting thrown around. There's a lot of cliques. The only thing that saved this novel and which brought it to a passing rating, was the message of the story, specifically, the ending. And I'm not talking about Wesley realizing that he needs to get his shit together, or Toby getting into touch with his real feelings, or the best friends making up, or Wesley and Bianca getting together... No. The only redeeming thing was the realization that Bianca has whilst talking to Vikki...  

“Calling Vikki a slut or a whore was just like calling somebody the Duff. It was insulting and hurtful, and it was one of those titles that just fed off the inner fear every girl must have from time to time. Slut, bitch, prude, tease, ditz. They were all the same. Every girl felt like one of these sexist labels described her at some point.” 

Another gem that redeemed this book was Wesley talking to Bianca... 

“Bianca, whore is just a cheap word people use to cut each other down," he said. His voice softer. "It makes them feel better about their own mistakes. Using words like that is easier than really looking into the situation. I promise you, you're not a whore."

I looked at him, into his warm gray eyes, and suddenly understood what he was trying to tell me. The message hidden beneath the words.

You're not alone.”  
I literally had my hands up in the air. I am so relieved that this book finally started saying something that matters and has a ring of truth in it. Everyone needs to realize this message! Words hurt, labels hurt, and they are useless and stupid.

The romance was okay. The characters were horrible. The story was okay. The message was wonderful. There are some gems and some passages that are really moving. However, Bianca is not a lady protagonist that I would want little girls to look up to.

There were so many things wrong with this book that really bugged me, but the underlying message is so important and that's the only reason that saved this book for me.

REVIEW: Inner Beauty

Inner Beauty by Annette J. Archer

Published: Amazon Digital Services

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Pages:32 pages

Format: Kindle Edition
Rating: 6/10 
Description: Inner Beauty is a fantasy short story (7030 words). What is a Skrylen? This is something Kelsi has to find out. When Kelsi has a weird paranormal experience, that involves her skin glowing and a fire like feeling flowing through her veins on the day she visits her Dad’s grave at the cemetery, she is left in confusion. Jesse, the mysterious transfer, the heartthrob in her into her high school, ‘just happens’ to have witnessed the events. He tells her she is a ‘skrylen’. Not sure what that is Kelsi is left to find out what this means. Why has her mother kept this secret from her all this time? Will her mother now explain what this means? One way or another Kelsi plans on finding out. It’s just that... it may not be what she expected.

 I, personally, am not a big fan of short stories. I am a lover of long descriptions, and slow-paced, well drawn-out plot lines, so when I was asked to review a 32-page long fantasy read I was a little wary.
Firstly, for a short story, this was a great, quick read! I loved the Skrylen, and the imagery. Just picturing the beautiful golden skin, and the majestic wings was more than enough to intrigue me. I've read a lot of fantasy novels, and I love reading about new creatures that I've never heard about before.
However, the plotline itself was very predictable and didn't surprise me at all. I was waiting for it, more than anything. The reaction of Kelsi wasn't believable at all. And I know that short stories aren't supposed to have much depth, but the characters were so one dimensional.
There was a lot of potential that was wasted simply because it's a short story. There's a love story between Kelsi's parents that I would have loved to delve into deeper, there's the whole world of Skrylens that I have yet to discover; is there a Skrylen order? What world did they come from?
For a short story, however, it was passable. If you are looking for just a quick fantasy, then this is your story! Thanks again Nazarite Publishing for sending me this book!

[This book was provided for free in exchange for an honest review.]

REVIEW: Feast For Crows

A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire #4) by George R.R. Martin
Published: October 2006 by Bantam

Genres: Epic/High Fantasy, Science-Fiction, Adult

Pages: 976 pages

Format: Paperback
Rating: 9/10 
Description: After centuries of bitter strife, the seven powers dividing the land have beaten one another into an uneasy truce. But it's not long before the survivors, outlaws, renegades, and carrion eaters of the Seven Kingdoms gather. Now, as the human crows assemble over a banquet of ashes, daring new plots and dangerous new alliances are formed while surprising faces—some familiar, others only just appearing—emerge from an ominous twilight of past struggles and chaos to take up the challenges of the terrible times ahead. Nobles and commoners, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and sages, are coming together to stake their fortunes...and their lives. For at a feast for crows, many are the guests—but only a few are the survivors.

Game of Throne's spoilers are almost a given now with our social media. I hate spoilers, so I avoid searching up anything to do with Game of Thrones online. Even browsing Maisie Williams (the lady who plays Arya) on Twitter can result in some major spoilers. Speaking of spoilers, there will be quite a few in the text that follows. Beware! Spoilers are coming!

(Disclaimer: This is a rant/review, without too much structure. It's more of my thoughts all bundled up in the form of a review.)

So, I went straight from Storm of Swords to Feast For Crows and can you imagine my surprise? There were some changes; In font, in layout, in typeface, ugh, oh, change. So basically, George R.R. Martin decided that instead of splitting the story in half, and leaving the story unfinished, he would finish the story of half the characters. It was quite the change. I dealt with it, though. And it was worth it! The book was magnificent. In Feast for Crows we focused more on Kings Landing. We focused on Cersei, Jaime, Brienne, Samwell, Sansa, the ladies of Dorne, and, although there was a frustrating lack of her, Arya. Now, Feast here, is known as the worst book in the series. I don't think it's the greatest, no, but I really loved it.

As always, the plot was complex and intricate, the characters were scheming and many-layered, and the setting was rich and immersive. I picked up traces of pro-Feminism as well which is really awesome in an epic fantasy. I'm making a seperate blog post on that, which I will link as soon as it's up.
I personally loved reading from the POV of Arya and Sansa. I know a lot of people will disagree, but Sansa is one of my favorites. I probably relate to her the most, while many people hate her. In Feast, both sisters undergo lots of changes, one of them being that both sisters change their names! Sansa to Alaynne, Petyr Baelish's natural daughter, and Arya to Cat, a street urchin running around Braavos.
 Littlefinger was icky as always, and the amount of times he kisses his "natural daughter" in the mouth is pretty gross. Icky. But, I'll give the man props. He deals with the sickly and whiny Robin and get's Sansa a pretty sweet gig.
I LOVED BEING IN BRAAVOS FINALLY. I want to explore the Free Cities more. I loved Arya's chapters the best. Her remincising about Winterfell, and her fallen household is one of my favorite passages from all the books.

"Winterfell... I smell snow & smoke & pine needles. I smell the stables. I smell Hodor laughing, & Jon & Robb battling in the yard, & Sansa singing about some stupid lady fair. I smell the crypts where the stone kings sit, I smell hot bread baking, I smell the godswood. I smell my wolf, I smell her fur, almost as if she were still beside me." 

And especially Arya's bit about Needle:

Needle was Robb and Bran and Rickon, her mother and her father, even Sansa. Needle was Winterfell's grey walls, and the laughter of its people. Needle was the summer snows, Old Nan's stories, the heart tree with its red leaves and scary face, the warm earthy smell of the glass gardens, the sound of the north wind rattling the shutters of her room. Needle was Jon Snow's smile. He used to mess my hair and call me "little sister," she remembered, and suddenly there were tears in her eyes

Jon Snow is my favorite character, and the big brother/little sister thing they had going on was one of my favorite parts. Although that happy family part of the story was short, it was sweet. I obviously wished Jon was in Feast more, but we got Sam giving us some updates, and Sam is an absolute sweetheart, so I guess it's okay. 

I hated and loved reading from Cersei. She is literally crazy. She believes she's so smart, and cunning, and I guess she is, but she truly is crazy. Although I hate her character, I was a little sad to see her fall (not death, but I mean, they caught her at her scheming game, so she's pretty much over). Hearing more about her chilling prophecy, childhood, and early marriage life was really great. I felt like I understood this sad little Queen Regent's life better. Her character is so fascinating to study. From her gruesome nightmares, to her outlandish schemes.

I loved Brienne and her travels with Pod and the rest of them. She's one awesome lady. I definietly felt for her. From the "contest", to her failing Catelyn and Renly, to her own ways of coping with her uncomely stature, I felt for this lady. Her story makes me so sad. The fact that people treat her so terribly. But it also makes me feel empowered. She's so strong and awesome and I love her. 

Jaimie's chapter's were a little more dull, but Jaimie's voice is one of my favorite ones. I mean, he's the Kingslayer, he's supposed to be all tough and strong. But reduced to being a cripple, he's lost a ton of respect. I love Jaimie because he doesn't want to be King! He doesn't want power, or money! He just wants to be able to kill stuff with his sword, and to love the woman he loves (which is Brienne. Not Cersei. BRIENNE!). 

Overall, this was a giant rant/review, but I love this series so much. It keeps me up at night, wondering what's happening in Westeroes. The sheer quality of the storytelling that comes from Martin is amazing.

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!