Review: Love, Hate, & Other Filters - Samira Ahmed

Love, Hate, and Other Filters
Samira Ahmed
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Soho Teen
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

A searing #OwnVoices coming-of-age debut in which an Indian-American Muslim teen confronts Islamophobia and a reality she can neither explain nor escape--perfect for fans of Angie Thomas, Jacqueline Woodson, and Adam Silvera.

American-born seventeen-year-old Maya Aziz is torn between worlds. There’s the proper one her parents expect for their good Indian daughter: attending a college close to their suburban Chicago home, and being paired off with an older Muslim boy her mom deems “suitable.” And then there is the world of her dreams: going to film school and living in New York City—and maybe (just maybe) pursuing a boy she’s known from afar since grade school, a boy who’s finally falling into her orbit at school.

There’s also the real world, beyond Maya’s control. In the aftermath of a horrific crime perpetrated hundreds of miles away, her life is turned upside down. The community she’s known since birth becomes unrecognizable; neighbors and classmates alike are consumed with fear, bigotry, and hatred. Ultimately, Maya must find the strength within to determine where she truly belongs.

Review: Spare and Found Parts - Sarah Maria Griffin

Spare and Found Parts
Sarah Maria Griffin
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Rating: DNF // 2.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

I would just like to start out by saying that Sarah Maria Griffin's prose was so elegant that I had to give some stars to a book I DNF'd 40% of the way through. I didn't feel right not leaving it with a rating.

The writing was just so florid and poetic and really leapt off the page. Every word was so heavy with meaning. I think my favorite line was the very second one: "Never sure if it was just something your grief stitched together from the parts of her you remember and the questions still in your throat."

So why DNF? Even beautiful prose cannot make up for awful pacing.

I am going to back up a little. For those unfamiliar, Spare and Found Parts is the story of a girl -- Nell -- in a post-apocalyptic city where everyone has augmented biomechanical limbs. Nell's limb, however, is a little different from everyone else's in that it's on the inside -- her heart. And it ticks. While she goes through a whole existential crisis about this stuff, she's also gotta contribute to the rebuilding of the city -- which she does through a robot, using technology her people fear. Sounds cool, right?

Right. When I saw the blurb for this book I was immediately hooked. It seemed like such a unique, interesting concept. And then the first few pages were full of such beautiful writing, I thought I'd love the whole thing. The more I read though, the more bored I kept getting and the harder it was to stay focused. How could I be bored reading a story about a post-apocalyptic world rebuilding itself from nothing???

I actually started this book weeks ago and have been trying to convince myself to read it between classes every day, hoping one of these days I will push myself to power through and finish, or will read a bit and reach a really interesting part, but so far neither has happened. The book just moves so slowly. I've read 40% and so far nothing has happened and no characters have really developed much personality. The book seems like it's heading in a direction where it'll take like 70% of the book for anything to happen and then ~So Many Things~ will happen in the last 30% but I don't like that. It's really hard for me to read a book that doesn't have a consistent (or captivating) pacing.

Also, I mentioned that the prose was really lovely, but the dialogue is honestly hit-or-miss. There are some really powerful pieces of dialogue and I appreciate them but there are also some really awkward lines that I pray were removed between the time I got my ARC and the final copy went out.

Honestly, I think I probably will come back to this book eventually, because it's such a freaking cool concept and I do want to see how it plays out, but for now I have so many books to read -- including the ones I impulse-ordered from Amazon that'll be here by the time this post goes up -- that I do not have any more weeks to spend trying to read 250 more pages of Nell sitting around brooding and doing nothing.

If you could replace one part of yourself, what would it be?

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Review: The Geography of You and Me - Jennifer E. Smith

The Geography of You and Me
Jennifer E. Smith
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Poppy
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

Disclaimer before I talk about this book: I love Jen E. Smith. I think the other books of hers I've read are wonderful and some of my favorites!! However, I think this one just missed the mark.

I picked this up when I was looking for things to bring back for my sister from the library (because my mom thinks she doesn't read enough) and when I read the premise I actually thought it sounded kinda like The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight (which I loved) which seemed a little suspicious, but they're pretty different stories other than the whole ~interesting meet-cute and parting of ways~ thing.

Anyway, I was totally expecting to love this book but I just couldn't seem to enjoy it. The story focuses on Lucy and Owen -- two teens who live in the same NYC apartment building but have never met and get stuck in the elevator together during a citywide blackout. Even though they bond through the night, they're pulled apart when Lucy moves to Edinburgh and Owen travels across the country with his dad.

The book's biggest positive was the writing itself. Jennifer E. Smith is definitely skilled and even if I had issues with the story, I can't deny that she wrote beautifully. One of my favorite parts is when she describes the way Owen feels about his life by comparing him to a fish that has "the capacity to grow in unimaginable ways if only the tank were big enough." She uses the phrase "he'd always felt himself bumping up against the edges of his own life" which I really liked and feel like a lot of people can relate to. There were a few other gems and notable snippets and I think they really significantly added to the reading experience. If this story was told by an author with less flair for language, I'm sure it'd have a much lower rating.

Even though I appreciated JES's writing, I wasn't that into the story. I'm always here for cutesy cheesy love stories with no other plot than the Happily Ever After but I really feel like nothing happened in this book. It was all fluff. And I am not anti-fluff!! I love fluff!!! But sometimes fluff just doesn't work, especially when it is trying so hard to not be fluff. I think fluff should own up to it and accept itself for what it is. Anyway, I just kept waiting for plot progression but it was so minimal.

Also, I thought Lucy was a kinda boring main character. She had no friends in New York and the ones in Edinburgh I wasn't that invested in, no stand-out personality traits, and even when I felt a little bad for her because I thought her parents left her behind on their vacations for funsies, I stopped feeling bad when I realized she had never actually bothered talking to them about wanting to go. Owen was a little bit better. His problems were a little less frivolous but he could be irksome too. I liked him as a whole though, although one thing that still bothers me about his character is that, when his dad and him decide to take off on a cross-country road trip in the beginning of the school year, he's like ~oh yeah I have enough credits to graduate it's chill~ but if he had enough credits at that point before his first semester was over he should have had them at the end of his junior year and should have already applied to schools!!!!!!!! I know it's nitpicking but it's always gonna bother me.

Anyway, the whole idea of the story is cute and I love the fact that they send each other postcards and that there's a turtle named Bartleby and that Owen likes stars but overall I was underwhelmed and got bored pretty quickly and anxious to finish. It was a quick read so it didn't take up too much of my time or anything but it's been a few weeks and I've already forgotten half of the details so that about sums it up.

- Noor

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Double Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne
Series: Harry Potter
Genre: Fantasy, Play
Publisher: Little Brown UK
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Can I just start out by saying that throughout the entirety of the promotion of this book, and the cover unveiling, and everything that I thought the cover was a snitch on fire until I actually physically held my copy in my hands and realized it was not, in fact, burning and that there is a CHILD in there. Moving on.

I have such mixed feelings about this script book, I don't even really know what to give it in terms of a number rating? I didn't even bother rating it on Goodreads, I just marked it as read, which is when you know a book has shaken you up.

I started off with zero expectations because I'd heard it was going to be a trainwreck so I was pretty chill about accepting what the book threw at me -- I figured it would be at best a pleasantly surprising read and at worst something amusing to joke about. And even though the book was pretty wild, I wouldn't consider it a trainwreck, so I was at least a little pleasantly surprised (but still found plenty to side-eye).

Cursed Child was definitely entertaining. It was super fun to read and the script format and the short length made it fly by in like an hour but if it was boring it would have definitely taken me forever to get through it. I was always intrigued and even when things got a little ridiculous, I still wanted to know what happened. Also, I feel like the craziness of the plot could work well on stage because stage productions seem to always have wilder plots than just regular novels. I really want to see how they pull off all the staging, especially in regards to them doing magic or transfiguring.

Even though the book was entertaining, it was still a little weird to digest. All the recurring characters from the original Harry Potter books seemed weirdly out of character and it was hard for me to picture them acting the way they did and saying the things they said. I realize that J.K. Rowling didn't write the script and that probably played a big hand in why they were out of character but it was weird to read the characters I grew up with acting so unlike I was used to.

There were also a few things that were hard to believe (and it wasn't the crazy plot, to be honest, just the nuances thereof) that I won't get into because this is a spoiler-free review and they're specific grievances, but it made me very eyes emoji about the whole thing. Like I don't mean hard to believe as in "wow I can't believe those two characters drove to school in a flying car that would never happen in real life!!" but just in a way that even though the book was telling me these things were the truth, I could not accept them as the truth. I desired -- I required -- an alternate explanation. And even though I said the plot was fun and entertaining, it had issues too and some of the events of the book were worth many eyes-emojis and raised eyebrows.

Honestly, I'm not sure what my overall opinion is. I loved some things like Scorpius and everything about him and his friendship with Albus (who frankly made a LOT of stupid decisions and was being QUITE annoying) but personally, even though it's marketed as "the eighth story," I can't in good conscience consider this canon. Like, I accept some parts of it but for me this is just a fun story that I'm deciding not to take too seriously.

End note: I think the real problem is that it isn't a musical. If it was a musical it'd be 10 stars.

- Noor

Amrutha's review of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

I want to preface this by saying: I grew up with Harry Potter, as did Noor and everyone else who will probably read this. Over the last several years that HP has had no new releases, I've been to Harry Potter World, beta read fanfic, reread the books and movies to the point of memorization -- and I'm sure a lot of HP fans on the internet can say the same. I know that TCC is not "the next book" and in not seeing the play, I've missed some stylistic elements that would've worked seeing it in production but didn't work written down. However, I've read a lot of plays and a lot of Harry Potter fanfiction, and I just don't think this worked for me all around.

Like Noor said, this book was entertaining. Going into it I didn't expect much, so reading anything from an author that shaped my childhood (I know she didn't write this book, but if you look at the cover it says "based on a new original story by J.K. Rowling" which I take to mean she had a hand in the plot). I understand that John Tiffany & Jack Thorne are not J.K. Rowling and therefore some of the dialogue would read out of character 1) because they're different writers and 2) because the trio is literally 19 years older and have children and whatnot. But regardless, reading this with the slightest feeling that at the end it could be accepted as canon was amazing. It made me feel so warm and happy and I finished the script in a couple of hours, because I couldn't wait to get to the end. As far as a story based on HP, I liked it.

But to me, that's all it was. This script reads like fanfiction -- there are plot holes galore and honestly some of the jumps they made just don't seem reasonable to me. Because this is a double review and Noor has said a lot of the things I feel about this, I'm going to do spoilers because I REALLY NEED TO DISCUSS MY FEELINGS. Inserted below will be both direct quotes from the book & discussions of plot points, so go forward at your own risk.

I'll end the spoiler free review here: I love Harry Potter. I don't love this script -- it was fun and mildly amusing for the time I was reading it, and if the play is ever around I will pay to go see it, but I do not accept this as canon.

Review: Seven Ways We Lie - Riley Redgate

Seven Ways We Lie
Riley Redgate
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Amulet Books
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

For the longest time I couldn't figure out how I felt about this. I thought the concept sounded so cool so I actually bought it from Barnes & Noble instead of just sitting in the store and reading it in a few hours sitting and putting it back on the shelf.

So this book has 7 main characters/7 PoVs as you might be able to guess from the title. These characters are: Olivia, Kat, Matt, Juniper, Valentine, and Claire. They all have the stereotypes that follow them, whether it be the slut or the perfect one or the weird one. It all ended up feeling very classic high school. This is the blurb:

Seven students. Seven (deadly) sins. One secret.

Paloma High School is ordinary by anyone’s standards. It’s got the same cliques, the same prejudices, the same suspect cafeteria food. And like every high school, every student has something to hide—from Kat, the thespian who conceals her trust issues onstage, to Valentine, the neurotic genius who’s planted the seed of a school scandal.

When that scandal bubbles over, and rumors of a teacher-student affair surface, everyone starts hunting for someone to blame. For the seven unlikely allies at the heart of it all, the collision of their seven ordinary-seeming lives results in extraordinary change.

Doesn't this sound like the wildest ride???? It's so ambiguous and appealing that even when I was 3/4 of the way through the book I thought something crazy would happen. But it played out like basically the same way that all books about high school do. 

The /main/ plot of the teacher-student affair really drives the story -- there's a little romance and family struggles and stuff on the side, but mostly it's about this. You can probably guess from the first few chapters who was involved. But the affair was probably the worst written part of the novel.  It felt really reminiscent (I hate to make this reference) of Aria & Ezra from PLL, meaning, it felt so much like a trope. However, it's a trope that I like to see hashed out and I think this book did a good job of that.

I did enjoy some of the subplots -- Olivia & Kat's family issues and Lucas' identity crisis were at the top of that list. I really did enjoy the way Claire's character was played out -- she's an unlikeable character who's mostly just used to move the plot along by constantly comparing herself to others, but she was good in a way that I think really showed jealousy. I think envy is something that is usually not vocalized but Claire was written in a way that showed how ugly envy can really be. A lot of the reviews I read said Claire was one of the worst characters but I don't know, I liked having an unsympathetic character. 

This book has a good deal of ~sensitive topics~ discussed -- I'm really hyped that sexuality is discussed candidly (cough cough they actually talk about pansexuality which never happens) (sidenote I noticed this when reading the book but I wouldn't have put it in the review if I hadn't seen another person mention it while scrolling through goodreads so credits to that person). The issues between Kat and Olivia, the issues of slut shaming and drugs and being the outsider and sleeping with the teacher -- I liked that all of these things came up and none were ignored or kind of shoved to the side as not that destructive. 

All in all I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book -- I want so much to say I really enjoyed it because the topics discussed were interesting and each character definitely had a unique voice, but I think the nature of most of plot points to be kind of unoriginal was a turn off for me. I also think that 7 PoVs were kind of choppy for this kind of story. SIGH I don't know I've changed the number of stars this book gets like at least three times throughout the story. Read it yourselves and let me know how you feel!

- Amrutha

What books with a lot of PoVs do you like?

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Review: The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer - Laxmi Hariharan

The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer
Laxmi Hariharan
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Dystopia
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My immediate thoughts after starting to read it were being overwhelmingly turned off to the narration style. I wasn't a fan of the way our protagonist, Ruby, described situations, and I was a bigger not-fan of the dialogue. It sounded very fake and forced and rehearsed and although that definitely improved as the book went on it was one of the weaker points and I think dialogue is one of the most important aspects of character development and this book was really lacking in that area. Also, if you're going to have dialogue set the scene to introduce two characters, it's going to leave a very lasting impression not only about how the two characters are, but about how your writing is as a whole, so it puts a lot of pressure on that scene, and I didn't think the first few scenes, where Ruby wakes up and we meet her roommate, delivered. I also thought it was full of awkward phrasing. Again, pulling from the first few pages, which make quite a lasting impression (which isn't to say books that start out bad and get better are doomed to be known by their beginnings. I'm just saying the first impression is pretty important), she writes:

"that would be totally stroking his ego, making him even more insufferable than what he is now"

and then later, close to the end

" Can he read my thoughts? Of course not. Yet as he stares at me, it’s as if he knows me really well. Almost as well as I know myself; maybe better."

I feel like both of these are so awkwardly written but it frustrated me because it's so easily fixed awkward writing. In the first example, the phrase after the comma is what bothers me and honestly if she took out the "what" it would be fine. Am I the only one who thinks it reads awkwardly this way? And the second one is that somewhat typical "he stares so deeply into my soul I think he can see into all of me" thing which granted she didn't overdo so I'm not goading Hariharan on that as much as I am on the fact that there were a thousand ways to tweak it that didn't involve writing "he knows me really well."

I think with revamped dialogue and a thorough round of editing, this book could honestly be something so much more.

Okay, I just spent a lot of time bashing the way it was written so I'm gonna get to the other components and how I felt about them.

I liked the characters for the most part. Even though Ruby's narration got on my nerves from time to time I didn't dislike her as a character and I actually thought it was pretty rad that she was this strong, independent warrior girl saving her best friend. You go Ruby. Four for you. I liked that she was strong-willed and (I know I already used the word strong but strong-willed is different, let it go) and took charge.

Pankaj and Vikram were interesting enough as well even though I felt like a lot of their characters I inferred from the intended effect of the dialogue and not the actual effect of it so I'm not sure how accurate my image of them actually was.

I thought the story, although marketed as a YA Dystopian Thriller, could have incorporated more of the dystopia aspect in their little bubble of Bombay City but that's not really much of a complaint as much of a small nitpick.

Overall, while I think the book had a lot of potential, I'm not sure that I totally loved it, but if the author was ever like "Hey I edited/revamped my book" I would totally give it another shot so there's that.

- Noor

Marlon's Review

Rating: 3/5 Stars

In short, I think the idea of this book is better than the book itself.

That said, the good parts are not too bad. Though it took me a while to get through the beginning chapters, I felt like Ruby's character was, at least, thought out if not presented clearly. Tea-loving, immature, and fiercely loyal and self-determined.

Not much else I need in a YA protag. I was immediately sold to the setting of Mumbai, not only because it's a rare thing for a YA dystopian novel not to be set in the West, but also because the charm of the city is captivating, and Hariharan does well to dismantle its glamour. Hariharan's descriptions are abundantly detailed as well, if not succinct. Stronger still is the wealth of cultural references that serve to add a rich layer of reality to the text. Another part of the book that strikes me is that the romantic aspect fits into the structure without sucking attention from the rest. Often, romance acts as a distraction, but here it only helps.

But because I can see the potential in this novel expressed in how Hariharan frames and builds the setting and her protag, I saw the bad parts in a much worse light. For example, I felt the city had better character development than most of the characters and that unnerved me. Pankaj for example pretty much existed to springboard off of Ruby's ideas and decisions and I felt his character could be elevated to quirky space he seems to want to occupy.

I agree with some of the other reviews of this novel that praise Hariharan's ability to build and promote narrative tension and keep a certain page-turning quality. There is never a truly "dull" moment that falls flat in terms of active narration or predictability. However, I felt that did not apply to the beginning. The beginning was clunky, info-droppy, and a bit rushed. A lot of that has to do with getting used to the pacing, syntax, and often awkward writing (described in detail by my fellow blogger here). It's nothing a few rounds of editing couldn't fix and I think Hariharan would benefit from a re-publication of this novel.

Like most reviewers, I was taken by the end. It was unpredictable, dramatic, and leaves the characters in shock. Unfortunately, because of the clunkiness, I was never able to invest myself enough to love feel the shock the characters did. It was enough that I will give Hariharan another go in the second book, but if it's similar in style, I may not finish that one.

- Marlon

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Review: Stitching Snow - R.C. Lewis

Stitching Snow
R.C. Lewis 
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance, Retelling, Dystopian
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Thanks to Disney-Hyperion for the eARC I received via Netgalley!

Stitching Snow was a very slow start for me. At the beginning of the story, Essie lives in a mining settlement where she cage fights for money and tinkers away at her robot friends in her spare time. Everything changes when a mysterious ship crashes near the settlement and she meets Dane, helping him to repair his ship. There's nothing inherently wrong with the beginning of the story; however, I felt as though too much emphasis was placed on Essie fixing things (stitching, as she calls it). So Essie stitched this bot, then Essie stitched the ship, then Essie stitched this other part of the ship, and so on. Meanwhile, I felt little to no attachment to any of these characters and I had no idea how this was a retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Fortunately, once the plot progresses past all this stitching, some more exciting and interesting plot things happen, bringing us to different places with different characters and a few things start to look like Snow White. There was still a lot of talk about stitching but she does a lot of stitching so it's not like it could be omitted entirely. At this point, I still really wanted more character development. In fact, up until about 80% through the book, I wasn't attached to the characters. One thing I really look for in a book is characters I care about so that definitely took away from my overall enjoyment. There were a lot of things happening to these characters throughout the entire book but a lot of their actions seemed rather flat an unmotivated.

With that being said, I did enjoy the last 20-25% of the book. Once I started caring about these characters and seeing a more interesting (in my opinion) plot unravel, I really started getting into it. Even though the characters were a bit mundane, I was invested in what they were doing and the outcome of the story.

R.C. Lewis clearly has potential and I think that her future work, based on the end of this book, could be really great and exciting. Unfortunately, with only about a quarter of this book being great, it earns 2.5 stars from me. The plot of Stitching Snow was interesting enough, with a very different twist on Snow White, but I wanted more in terms of character development. Overall, it was a decent story and I hope to see more from R.C. Lewis in the future.

- Kiersten

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Double Review - Black Ice - Becca Fitzpatrick

Black Ice
Becca Fitzpatrick
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Thriller
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Stars
Word Rating: Entertaining Enough
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

I picked up an ARC of this from BEA and now that I've read it, I realize that figuring out how I felt about this book took a little time because I didn't immediately feel one way or another as to whether or not I liked it. The premise -- a girl getting lost in the mountains with potential serial killers -- was oh so promising and there was quite a bit that went on the book, some good, some bad, that made it a lot more than just that basic summary.

 Right from the beginning, I didn't really like Britt, the main character. There was a scene at a gas station in the very beginning that I believe said a lot about her character. She refused to pump her own gas and pretended not to know how because she thinks she's a princess and doesn't want her hands to smell like gas (girl you're going backpacking, if you can't handle a little gasoline, you got problems) and then kept drinking excess Slurpee like it was her job and then made up a fake boyfriend to get back at her ex and had the most disgusting display of verbal affection with that fake conversation that I wanted to puke a little bit. I honestly thought at first Britt would be serious and tough or at least not as annoying as she is, but I was wrong. And then she hates on her "best friend" Korbie all the time for stupid things that she also does. You're not any better than her (not that Korbie is really all that bad, Britt just gets really annoyed by everything she does for some reason. That is not a healthy best-friendship. Walk away from that, one of you).

Calvin is Britt's main thought throughout the book and he honestly isn't even a great person. We see all these flashbacks, which were actually pretty entertaining and I enjoyed, but they just solidified the fact that he wasn't good to her, and there's no reason she should be thinking of him stranded in a cabin in the middle of the mountains. She also should not be romantically thinking about her captors -- one of them, at least.

The Stockholm syndrome vibes weren't so much as weird as they were poor judgement on her part. Like, come on girl, I know the guy is cute, but the whole thing had such a creepy feel to it the whole time that if I was there I probably would have been terrified, not flirting with the enemy.

Although, I did like that she tried to guide them out to help save herself, that was one of the few good choices she made throughout the book. And actually reading about her strandedness and adventure was definitely entertaining, although Britt's dialogue always annoyed me.

Even though I didn't particularly like the characters, I still found myself wondering if she would become another one of the teenage girls found dead, if she would become like the girl in the opening scene. I personally thought she would make it out alive because she's the main character and most authors don't do that, but that doesn't mean I wasn't thinking about the hundreds of other things that could happen to her besides that.

The plot itself of the book wasn't super unguessable but it definitely was engaging, enough so to keep me reading after I already decided the characters were a bit too much for me. Overall, I didn't totally love it, and there were a bunch of things I had issues with, but it won't deter me from trying out Becca Fitzpatrick books in the future.

- Noor

Marlon's Review of Black Ice
Rating: 2 our of 5 Stars
Word Rating:  Mediocre

Did you like Hush Hush? If so, you're going to like this book. Fitzpatrick's diction and storytelling have certainly become more polished, but the writing is very similar, the characters are just as contentious and the 'romance' is just as ramped up.

If you didn't like Hush Hush, then chances are, you're with me: Black Ice is mediocre. It has a strong premise and a lot of potential -- right from the prologue the raw themes that should be capitalized on -- escapism versus being captured, lust versus murderous intent, intoxicated (and so altered) states of mind. The blurbs all promise a fast-pace ride about Britt, the main character, being captured and stranded with probable killers, and having to navigate her way out to save herself.

That's all well and nice, of course, if the introduction didn't make Britt so hateable. Was the point of all the tension about the camping in the beginning, coupled with seeing her ex, supposed to make us relate to Britt? Because it didn't come off that way. Instead, Britt's character seems annoying, petty, and arrogant. (See Noor's review for a fuller criticism.)

And I would be completely fine hating Britt in the beginning but learning to love her as the fear of death showed her character's insides to be something more redeeming . . . but no. In basically every situation, Britt cannot help but relate everything to Calvin. This is fine, I can totally understand seeing someone you love in everything you do . . . but in a novel like this, those flashbacks only detract from the central plot -- of which Calvin has pretty much no influence past the first chapter -- and make me want to slap Britt to get over someone who made cheated on her while they were in a committed relationship, manipulated her to have sex with him, and generally was a total bag of faecal matter. What was the point of this? To make Mason, her captor, look more appealing to Britt? It doesn't. It just makes Britt's taste in lovers all the more disconcerting.

Godamnit, I want to talk about other characters but Britt is such a huge part of why this novel caves in on itself so hard. Every single thing about her makes me wish she just died in the mountains and Korbie just treks out of there exhausted but free. For example, throughout the book, Britt is treated poorly by most of the men. When this happens, she blames herself, she thinks they have beautiful souls and what have you. But the second her "best" friend does something wrong . . . the second Britt's sexual desires become apparent, Korbie could be dead to her and she wouldn't notice. What kind of message does this send?

There is literally a scene where one of the men is telling Britt that she "[has] the complete package", while Korbie is just an idiot. What does Britt say to this? "His response could not have been more perfect."

What the hell? What the hell!?

The saving grace of the book is probably the unwinding of the plot. I found that while I knew the general direction of things (not really that Big of a Reveal at the end), I couldn't really predict at all what certain characters would do since most of the events were based purely on circumstance. I found this really fascinating, especially in trying to get in the heads of the captors.

In the end, though, it was not an enjoyable journey, though I see how it could have been.

- Marlon

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Review: Running on Empty - Colette Ballard

Running on Empty
Colette Ballard 
Series: N/A
Genre: New Adult, Mystery, Romance
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Disappointing
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Running On Empty is a book that basically forms around the premise of a girl, River, killing her boyfriend in an act of self-defense, getting her friends to help cover it up, and then avoiding the police for months. I honestly think this book could have gone in a lot of different directions, or even the same direction but slightly better developed, and it would have been ten times better. It wasn't the barebones idea that was the problem or anything, and Ballard could have definitely played with it and improved it and made it into an enjoyable novel. However, the way the book did end up going wasn't quite my cup of tea.

My first grievance may or may not be fair, but it did affect my feelings so it will be included: the horse factor. Now, don't be alarmed. This is by no means a horse book. Also, do not hate me and run away because you think I hate horse books or books that mention horses or people that like horse books. That's not true. I used to love horse books. Granted, I was never that girl in fourth grade who held the equestrian queen title with her horse stuffed animals and picture books. But I have read and enjoyed my fair share of them. But I'm kindof over them, you know? So when I read the first page of this book and River described her idea of sensory heaven and it all involved galloping horses and farms, I wasn't sure what I was in for. And then I kept reading and this girl lives in a trailer and her best friend works on a farm and it's got that whole feel to it, which isn't bad but isn't really what I was expecting from a thriller murder suspense book, you know? So it isn't really about the horses specifically, it's just about the whole feel of it, because you do visit that aspect of her life a lot.

Anyway, I also have an issue with the whole fact that a lot of the plot just kindof felt flat and forced to me. The beginning was pretty typical, I saw everything coming and it was all tropes and things you could see coming. Like the jerk boyfriend who she couldn't believe she was with because he was cute and smart and wealthy and all around perfect and she was just a plain Jane and so of course he could just go around being rude to her as long as he batted and eyelash and said I love you in the end. And of course there was the cute guy best friend who there is lots of lingering sexual tension with right from the get-go because why build any of that up, right? In the middle, the plot starts to gets better but the second half of the book gets predictable again.

I also thought the writing was weak, too. The dialogue was decent, but the writing itself felt choppy and took away from the story. I thought it needed a lot of editing and should have flowed a lot smoother in order to make the story work. A lot of River's voice got lost because the writing wasn't sophisticated enough to pull it through and I think that's what took away from a lot of the novel.

Overall, I think my disappointment stems from the fact that there was a lot of potential that could have been tapped into if this story had been twisted and molded in the right places. I know all the comments I've made are negative, but the negativity only extends far enough to make it a mediocre book, not a terrible one. I won't go around telling everyone to read it, but it does get two and a half stars, so take that as you will.

- Noor

Have you read anything suspenseful lately?
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Review: The Romeo Club - Rebekah L. Purdy

The Romeo Club
Rebekah L. Purdy
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Predictable
On Goodreads

When I first got a copy of The Romeo Club for review, I was really excited to read it. The book sounded very promising. And while it wasn't a bad book, it fell short of what I hoped it would be.

The Romeo Club centers around Delyla, who is pretty and popular and has been approached by her brother and his friends -- who she calls the Nerd Herd -- and asked to make them attractive and appealing to the girls they are trying to impress in exchange for giving her enough money to buy her dream prom dress.

One of the things I liked about the book was the dialogue between Delyla and the Nerd Herd. It was well written and free-flowing and in general just good banter. Her dynamic with the other characters was pretty well done and I liked that aspect of the story.

I didn't like Delyla's character, however. Later on in the book, she becomes bearable but in the beginning I just find her annoying and whiny. For one, she goes to great lengths not to tell her boyfriend about what she's up to. It's not like planning to give your brother some advice about how to dress and talk to girls is a bad thing. I get that her personality is very socially-conscious and that she wouldn't want to be seen in public with that group of guys, but she really didn't have to lie to her boyfriend as much as she did. I just found Delyla to be shallow and annoying, especially the first half of the book, and it was really hard getting through her inner monologue. Also, her plans for sabotage? I thought she was being really selfish and that it should not have worked out as well for her as it did.

Also, the storyline with Trey was so predictable. I could literally tell from the first mention of him how the story was going to play out. In general, the plot was pretty predictable and it was so easy to know exactly where this book would go. Which isn't a totally bad thing, because sometimes you want a cute, light read where there aren't very many surprises. And Rebekah L. Purdy isn't a bad writer, so it was easy to get through and pretty well-written (I mean, I didn't much like Delyla's style of narration, but that's just because of her character). I just wondered if I should bother wading through Delyla's annoying behavior just to read the ending I knew would happen (although I kind of wished it wouldn't). There was one plot aspect that I didn't see coming, and that was the neighbor's dog subplot. And it's not that I didn't see it coming in that it surprised me. It's just that there was literally no point to it, so I didn't have a prediction for where it would end up leading to. It didn't do much to further the story and while it provided a few comical scenes, I think it was slightly confusing and not necessary. Maybe if she cut it down to one or two scenes it wouldn't seem like it was intended to be important and then just cut out.

Okay, so I know I just talked about how I didn't like the main character and how I thought the plot wasn't very new and refreshing, which is why I didn't totally like it, but that being said, it isn't a terrible book. It's very easy and quick to get through so if you're ever bored and looking for a cliche love story, it's cute and pretty satisfying in that regard.

- Noor

Have you ever helped out a sibling for a favor in return?
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Review: The Magicians - Lev Grossman

The Magicians
Lev Grossman
Series: The Magicians, #1
Genre: Fantasy, Magic
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Well, Different.
On Goodreads

DNF.

Don't hound me, I do have reasons. I would have kept reading, and I really did want to but I'm sorry, I just couldn't anymore

This book does have some good qualities, which is why I haven't shut it down completely.

It's light and reads fairly easily to read. There's lots of sarcasm! Some of the lines are just absolutely brilliant and some of the scenes are thoroughly exciting and well transitioned and oh so fluid. The commentary on Harry Potter through the modern, realistic eyes of our narrator is pretty cool. The school and Quentin's obsession with Fillory are fantastically portrayed.

And that's where it stops. I can't simply praise and love a book for the few gold nuggets it contains.

The reason it's light and reads easily is because there is no 'showing', there's just a hell of a lot of info dumping, description, delineation, so that the book becomes more or less completely perceptive to the surrounding of the book, rather than placing the reader in the active plot. So it's the anti-contemporary Fantasy novel, yeah? Yeah. There are different ways to critique and display a different style of writing from the genre of the book you are writing . . . this is not one of those ways. It conflicts with one of the main tenants of such a book: the reader has to be engaged.

Yes, I understand there is a small group who wish to be floored with the 'tell' aspect. Yes, I understand that being anti-fantasy is all this book is about, but one has to be deceptive about an anti-book. Grossman simply scares us off with this, makes the first half of the book, the "Harry Potter" half, much more awkward than it has to be. I can't even gather myself to analyze this anymore it's so frustrating.

The entirety of the first half reads like this: "Here's something I didn't like in Harry Potter. Here's my cool, modern version. Ooh let's talk about something else, like Quentin's alcoholism. What a guy, eh?"
Literally, check it out . . . I'm too mad to copy lines from this book, I can't look at it anymore.

And the worst part of this whole anti-genre crap? There is no social message. You won't walk away thinking "wow that guy really had something to say about the fantastical and fallacious portrayal of human beings". Here's a hint: he doesn't. He takes the saying "people never change" and stretches it to the sun and back. Fantasy novels portray humans of all kinds, the best and the worst, and we usually find ourselves in the eyes of the 'best', growing alongside them, however dark it may become or they may become. Human nature is not so facile to be reduced to Quentin Coldwater's less-than-tepid selfish arrogant buttfacery.

See, I know that people suck. I'm not an idiot. People like to think they are the centers of the universe, or in the opposite, that they don't matter at all. People like to just suck. But that's not the point. Grossman had a chance here. A wonderful opportunity to portray Quentin slowly realizing the fallacy of the fantasy world he's being chucked in. But no, he's just a little prick and dresses it up as depression, which it isn't, ruining it for anyone who suffers. He's a cynic, and dresses it up as skepticism, which ruins it for any freethinkers . . . I just don't understand what Grossman was trying to do. He seems to be tackling so much that it just collapses.

I predicted the end and couldn't bring myself to finish, I'm sorry. I quit.

- Marlon

I'm anti-question so no questions. Ha!*

Let us know in the comments!
I'm still angry about this book.

Review: Deuce - Janine Caldwell

Deuce
Janine Caldwell
Series: Vortex Series, #3
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Science Fiction
Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: This had so much more potential
On Goodreads

And here comes my review of the final book in the Vortex series, the first two of which I have put reviews up for in the last few weeks.

I wanted to like this book so much. I really wanted it to be exactly what was missing from the other two. I tried so hard to love it.

I couldn't do it.

Okay, I didn't hate it. It fell very short but it was bearable and I could deal with it. I feel like this is just going to be a repeat of what I essentially said in the last two reviews, so it'll probably be short because most of my complaints are just continuations from what I didn't like about the rest of the series.

While the characters are certainly more fleshed out than they were previously, I feel like that has less with the audience getting to know them and more with the fact that I just got so used to them making the same choices and decisions that I started to just see them coming. Also, I still can't deal with some of the narration and how, three books it, they narrate the exact same way. That bothers me a lot because multiple narrations is often tricky and if the narrators are going to sound the same, it might just be easier to keep it as either one first person narrator or just do it in the third person, the latter of which would have worked excellently for this series.

Also, I felt like there was too much going on and it didn't all make sense, and honestly, if the second book had a few slight changes, the whole series could have ended there. This book felt like it was just tacked on and an awkward addition that didn't really belong.

The storyline was interesting enough that I kept reading until the end, but I didn't feel the satisfaction/agony/emotion that comes with finishing a good book, especially the end of the series.

I know most of what I'm saying sounds negative, and I may not have liked the series, but I really think Janine Caldwell can do more with her writing and if she publishes anything in the future, I will definitely be open to reading it and see how she has grown as an author. She had good ideas and hopefully next time her execution will be more on point.

- Noor

Have you ever felt like the last book in a series was unnecessary?
Let us know in the comments!

Review: Double Fault - Janine Caldwell

Double Fault
Janine Caldwell
Series: Vortex Series, #2
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Science Fiction
Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Whiny but bearable
On Goodreads

If you missed my last review, it was for the first book in this series, Rematch, and you should check it out before you read this one if you want to see how the two books compare.

So Double Fault was definitely better than Rematch but I still had a few problems with it, some of which carried over from the last book. The biggest issue for me was the writing itself.

I found it hard to find any significant differentiation between Trent's narration and Cassie's. I think if an author is going to have more than one narrator, there should be a noticeable difference in the way they tell their stories. I also thought at first it wasn't completely necessary to have more than one narrator, although I understood why it worked later in the book, so that isn't a qualm against Janine Caldwell, just an observation. However, like I said, the narration all sounded the same to me. Some chapters I would even get confused as to who was supposed to be speaking and assume it was one of them when in actuality it was the other. This threw me off sometimes and broke up my flow of reading.

Another problem I had with the writing was that there was a lot of telling and not a lot of showing. Most of the plot points and descriptions were given in explicit terms of either Cassie or Trent saying "This is happening. Now this is happening. Now this person is doing this." I didn't feel engrossed in the world of the book, I felt like I was just a spectator in a separate reality. It took a lot away from what otherwise could have had so much more potential.

Speaking of separate realities, that was one thing I did really like about this book. Janine Caldwell's story was very interesting and it kept me pretty entertained learning about how Cassie's life would have been different and how messing with time is more dangerous than meets the eye. I wish I could say more without spoiling it, but the plot is definitely what kept me reading, especially when I got annoyed with the characters, who seemed to be flat and boring at times. I really wish she had focused more on Lorelai, who is definitely my favorite character.

Overall, the book fell short in a lot of places, but I can see that Janine Caldwell has a lot of potential as an author and I look forward to seeing how she improves in the future.

- Noor

What one event from your past would you change and why?
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Review: Rematch - Janine Caldwell

Rematch
Janine Caldwell
Series: Vortex Series, #1
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, SciFi
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Excerpt from a Preteen's Journal
On Goodreads

Hey, everyone! I'm reading the Vortex series as part of a book tour and when I read what this book was about, I was so excited to get to read it. Rematch switches between the point of view of Trent Astor, who can jump through time, and Cassie Moore, a girl Trent was supposed to save on a mission that went askew. The premise was so promising, but when I read the book, I thought it fell a bit short of what it could have been.

My main qualm is the writing. I know it's supposed to be from the point of view of 18 year olds, but they sound more like preteens whining in their journals. Both of them. Even though Cassie and Trent are pretty different, they both sound exactly the same in their narration and I found myself getting confused about who was speaking every so often. This wouldn't be as bad if the writing itself didn't sound so juvenile but it did. I felt myself getting so annoyed with Cassie and her internal ramblings. I also thought the way she described people was kindof bland -- she mostly just listed attributes. She describes her best friend Kelli as "a petite bomb shell with a pug nose and squinty alluring eyes that have most guys drooling in her general direction." I don't know about you, but a pug nose and squinty eyes in't really a description I would use for someone attractive. She also spends an excessively long time talking about Ally Carter and her boobs and how

"She confidently parades her tan long legs and voluptuous body around like a woman in her twenties. She's like a supermodel with perfectly blown hair in just the right shades of blonde, seductive eyes, full pouty lips and then... there's her bust size. Ugh."

Honestly, the book is just full of subpar dialogue and rambling internal monologues that make it really hard to keep reading.

I also didn't think the supporting characters had any sort of depth to them. Cassie's (ex)boyfriend Jeff was a typical jock. Kelli didn't really do anything except act as a person for Cassie to have conversations with. Everyone except Trent, Cassie, and to an extent, Lorelai, blended into the background and just seemed very static and unnecessary.

Even though I really didn't like the writing style and thought it needed major improvement, the plot of the story kept me going. The stuff about the vortexes and Trent's time travelling abilities was pretty interesting, and I liked how most of the plot played out.

Overall, even though this book wasn't the greatest thing I've ever read, I'm hoping for some improvements in the second book so stay tuned for a review of that next week!

- Noor

If you could travel in time,where and when would you go?
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Review: The Light Tamer - Devyn Dawson

The Light Tamer
Devyn Dawson
Series: The Light Tamer, #1
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Ambivalent.
On Goodreads

Well, it was alright. I picked this up as a free e-book, and well, I got what I paid for. It was nothing special. What I can tell you about the book is that it certainly lives up to it's genres . . . it did well as a paranormal romance novel. It had all the key elements that are targeted these days: young adult girl who is a bit unlike other girls, falling for an incredibly attractive guy with insta-love sprayed all over their faces, a couple of comedic relief bits, and a high-strung plot. It even has an atrsy-looking cover with a pretty girl who I suppose represents the main character, and an abstract, matching title emblazoned below her neck.

As much as I'd like to bank on the total originality here, the book does have good elements. Like I said, it does it's job as a Paranormal Romance novel well. It gets you hooked with a relateable narrator, the writing's forthright and flowery when it needs to be, and all of the usual crap. I did, at least, like the fact that the paranormal aspect wasn't just vampires or angels or what has become the staple of the genre, but something new that I hadn't thought of. I just wish Dawson had taken a bit more time to clearly explain the mythology instead of having Jessie gawk at it and say 'Oh my God' every five seconds.

I liked the characters for the most part. Jessie's internal dialogues are spot on and her foul language in the face of any situation gets me through the weaker chapters.

'Sick and tired, sick and tired, sick and tired . . . I'm sick of the griping, and I'm tired of being the reasonable one. I wish both of them would grow up and quit pretending to outsiders everything's okay. Everything's not okay. Everything sucks. It sucks that my dad took the credit card and bought a flight to Greece. . . It sucks I think everything sucks.'

The supporting cast is the usual brand of funny and not very important at all but for main character venting and development, and lots of snarky one-liners.

But back to Jessie. Though I like some parts of her, I honestly can't stand the fact that she doesn't take anything in strides or ever really reacts impassively to any situation. 'Okay' is usually what she says after massive reveals are loaded onto her and her world should be coming down. And her development is reflective of this. For example, when she figures out she's a Light Tamer . . . magically she is just able to practice Light Tamer magic or whatever the hell is going on. Why? What? What? Apparently she used to do some magic when she was a kid? Why is this relevant?

She hardly questions anything, and she simply falls into the Light Tamer world without rough patches or hard-earned development. I'd like to see Jessie bitch about how difficult it is getting used to the new world is, or at least explain why everything is normal to her. Am I supposed to assume that this teenager, which the author seems to have taken great strides in making 'normal' is, in fact, totally passive to supernatural happenstance?

And the instalove. It says a lot about a person when that person falls instantly for another. But it's even worse when that person is telling you things about your life, and you just accept those things, trust that person, and randomly have the ability to do those things when all you have for trust are the tingles you feel when he touches you. I'm glad our strong female readers love to know that all they need to succeed is a pretty boy who seems smart and has no other characteristics.

Well, I think I've said enough.

What would you like to see happen in the Paranormal Romance genre?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: The Sorcery Code - Dima Zales

The Sorcery Code
Dima Zales
Series: The Sorcery Code, #1
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Rather meh
On Goodreads

There was a naked woman on the floor of Blaise’s study.

With an opening line like that, The Sorcery Code immediately grabs the reader’s attention. Blaise has been trying to create a magical object that will be able to interpret plain language and convert it directly to sorcery code, the language of the Spell Realm. Unknowingly, however, Blaise created Gala, a woman born from the Spell Realm. Neither Blaise nor Gala knows quite what she’s capable of, and throughout the story, we see Gala grow into herself and learn the full extent of her powers.

When it comes to this concept and the way it plays out in The Sorcery Code, is great. While reading, I wondered what was going to happen with Gala – it was clear to me what was happening to her, but she is naïve and hasn’t been “alive” for long so she could not figure it out right away. Gala was, by far, the most interesting character in this story. For her it was almost a coming of age tale as she realized what she was capable of, how she could use her abilities in good ways, and that there are consequences to her actions.

Being a sorcerer in The Sorcery Code is much like being a scientist in our world. Sorcerers don’t possess magical powers – sorcerers are those most skilled in mathematics and science. A sorcerer cannot simply just say a spell or wave their wand. In order to do magic, a sorcerer must do calculations and put in specific variables and coordinates depending on what he wants to accomplish.

As long as you wrote out the logic of the spell properly, then it was a simple dynamic of ‘if variable A is set to such and such value, action B happens.’

The way magic works in The Sorcery Code is really inventive and interesting to learn throughout the book. Although it was a lot of information and a bit confusing at first, it makes sense as the story progresses.

While Gala is adventurous and curious about the Physical Realm, the world she now lives in, Blaise is much more interested in the Spell Realm. Blaise is one of the best sorcerers of his day because of how intelligent he is. He is constantly researching and trying to find ways to make sorcery easier. Blaise is pretty much a nerd but in a way that puts you in awe over his passion and innovation. Although Blaise was much less interesting than Gala, I found that he was still rather interesting, mostly because his point of view was where we learned the most about sorcery and the world of The Sorcery Code.

Along with Gala and Blaise’s point of views, there’s also POVs for Augusta and Barson. I found these two characters much harder to connect with. While I appreciate seeing all their views and experiencing what’s happening in each of their lives, I think juggling four different perspectives made it harder to connect with the characters because there wasn’t a lot of time to really appreciate them. Barson was sort of interesting because he had a secret that I wanted to figure out, but I found Augusta a little hard to handle. While other characters had bigger plans for their actions, most of her actions were concerned with what she wanted above all else. Besides that, I found that Augusta just wasn’t all that interesting. I rarely cared what she was doing unless her actions were going to affect Gala.

While the concept (the reason I signed up to review for the book tour) and the beginning of this story grabbed my attention, I think the overall execution of the plot could have been better. When I read that first scene (which you can read on my The Sorcery Code Book Tour post here) I thought the book would be really fast paced. Unfortunately, there are a lot of fairly slow parts because there’s so much exposition for each character. There just wasn’t enough time to fully develop the characters and follow their stories with four different character POVs – especially because the characters were almost always completely separate from one another.

Overall, The Sorcery Code was by no means a bad book, I just felt very “meh” about it after reading. I didn’t quite fall in love with any of the characters and I felt no urgency to keep reading largely due to that. I think that as the beginning of a series (since the non-ending of this book NEEDS a sequel) this story has a lot of potential to be great, especially if Dima Zales continues to weave such a detailed and inventive world. Although The Sorcery Code is by no means my favorite book, I still enjoyed it and I think I’ll enjoy it even more after reading more in the series.

- Kiersten

How do you feel about multiple POVs?

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