Literally Lenny: bookstore

What is it about?

"Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland and a favorite of the unmarried King, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, she wants to open a shop and create delectable pastries. But for her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for a woman who could be a queen.

At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the King’s marriage proposal, she meets handsome and mysterious Jest. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the King and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into a secret courtship.

Cath is determined to choose her own destiny. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans."

My thoughts:

I should start by admitting that I have never been a fan of Alice and Wonderland. There, I said it. I found it creepy and disturbing, regardless whether it was an illustrated book or movie...I have just never been a fan of the story.

That being said, I absolutely LOVED Heartless.

My immediate reaction after finishing via Goodreads Review:

"Oh my....that was INCREDIBLE. Absolutely amazing. It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I had no idea how the book was going to end, as I was CONSTANTLY trying to figure it out. This book was clever and brilliant and one of the best written stories I've ever read. I cannot say enough about this book."

Now, after having some time to calm down, let's get into the nitty-gritty of the book, shall we?

Characters:

So there was Cath (main character), Jest (love interest), and the King. I thought Cath was portrayed amazingly in this. You can get a full sense and understanding of why she turned evil for when Alice came bouncing into Wonderland. Meyer made you feel pain for Cath because of all she had to go through. Rejection from her parents, not having a say in any matter, and then losing your one true love. My heart hurts just thinking about it. No pun intended.

I don't have much to say about the King other than I had absolutely no sympathy for him because he was obnoxious and creepy all rolled in one. His character was written and portrayed perfectly. I don't think Meyer could have done anything better. The King ended up being my favorite character mainly because he was just so odd and the fact that Meyer was able to show the reader that through just writing is incredible.

And then there's Jest: I am not going to lie, but I am not a fan. He reminded me of Peter Pan (in that obnoxious too-care-free kind of way). I get his whole backstory, but I feel like when his secrets came out, they really were not as mind-blowing as I was expecting. I mean, you meet Jest and he's an extremely mysterious person that you know nothing about. I just expected more from his true reveal.

Storyline:

Storyline was fantastic. I love the simple implication that not everyone is born to be evil, everyone has their reasons for how they are the way they are, you just have to look deeper. And after reading this book, I do not blame Cath (Queen of Hearts) one bit for being the flaming witch that she is portrayed as in Alice in Wonderland.

I will say that the one thing that bothered me, which shouldn't be a surprise considering my feelings towards Jest, was that the insta-love was way too much. And not to mention not even necessary. I feel like there could have been a much more subtle love story in there...the romance between Cath and Jest just seemed forced and fake to me. I wanted more out of it.

12:47 PM No comments

What's it About?:

"WELCOME TO MANHATTAN, 2118.

A hundred years in the future, New York is a city of innovation and dreams. Everyone there wants something…and everyone has something to lose.

LEDA COLE’s flawless exterior belies a secret addiction—to a drug she never should have tried and a boy she never should have touched.

ERIS DODD-RADSON’s beautiful, carefree life falls to pieces when a heartbreaking betrayal tears her family apart.

RYLIN MYERS’s job on one of the highest floors sweeps her into a world—and a romance—she never imagined…but will this new life cost Rylin her old one?

WATT BAKRADI is a tech genius with a secret: he knows everything about everyone. But when he’s hired to spy for an upper-floor girl, he finds himself caught up in a complicated web of lies.
And living above everyone else on the thousandth floor is AVERY FULLER, the girl genetically designed to be perfect. The girl who seems to have it all—yet is tormented by the one thing she can never have.

Amid breathtaking advancement and high-tech luxury, five teenagers struggle to find their place at the top of the world. But when you're this high up, there's nowhere to go but down...." - Goodreads Synopsis

My Thoughts:

I cannot possibly tell you how much I adored this book. The Thousandth Floor is easily, easily, my favorite book of 2016. I have never been so immersed in a book before.

The story is set in the future where hover boards are the norm, and thousand floor buildings are architecturally possible. I have heard a lot of people say that it is a futuristic version of Gossip Girl, and even though I was never a fan of Gossip Girl, I know exactly what those people were getting at. Regardless of the futuristic setting, Katharine McGee made this story incredibly realistic for people who are living 102 years in the past. She included the simple topics such as love and betrayal, as well as talking about the serious parts of everyday life. McGee brought the intense side to the story by talking about computer hacking, drug addictions, and family affairs. Each character was so different from the next, it's hard not to relate with at least ONE of them.

I loved it, and I will read it again and again until the sequel is released next Summer.

I highly recommend you give this a read, because you will NOT be disappointed.

4:32 PM No comments

What's it about?

Elias and Laia are running for their lives. After the events of the Fourth Trial, Martial soldiers hunt the two fugitives as they flee the city of Serra and undertake a perilous journey through the heart of the Empire.

Laia is determined to break into Kauf—the Empire’s most secure and dangerous prison—to save her brother, who is the key to the Scholars’ survival. And Elias is determined to help Laia succeed, even if it means giving up his last chance at freedom.

But dark forces, human and otherworldly, work against Laia and Elias. The pair must fight every step of the way to outsmart their enemies: the bloodthirsty Emperor Marcus, the merciless Commandant, the sadistic Warden of Kauf, and, most heartbreaking of all, Helene—Elias’s former friend and the Empire’s newest Blood Shrike.

Bound to Marcus’s will, Helene faces a torturous mission of her own—one that might destroy her: find the traitor Elias Veturius and the Scholar slave who helped him escape…and kill them both.

My Thoughts:

An excellent sequel to an excellent debut. It's difficult for me to say which book I liked more because they both brought completely different things to the table. The first was full of so much information and an introduction to their world. The sequel dives so much more into each character's life, allowing us to relate with many of the characters, resulting in MANY MANY more feels. So many feels, you guys.

But...how was the return of the main characters? Well. To be honest, some I loved, and some just did not impress.

Elias:

Elias became more complicated and complex when you were able to see the things he found worth fighting for. Without giving away spoilers, Elias proves to us just how strong and loyal he is after we see him being violently tossed around in his own mind. Overall though, his character hadn't changed much from the first book. He was still the badass Elias who's mother was out to get him after she had thrown him to the curb. (But. That's okay. No bitter feelings, clearly...)

Laia:

Laia did not impress me much in this sequel. She was a major badass in the first dealing with everything that was thrown her way from the death of her family to becoming a slave for the most ruthless woman of the empire. But in the second, it was almost as if her character became weak. I wasn't impressed by anything she "courageously conquered". Her character became very dull in the sequel, making me almost think that she was a completely different character.

Helene:

We finally got to peak into Helene's mind as well, which was probably my favorite part. She is just a conflicted character, working for the empire when the empire has taken everything you love away from you. The strength and power she shows is remarkable and I cannot wait to learn more about how she takes on the Empire.

The ending leaves you wanting so much more. A decision is made by many but you have no idea how anything is going to work out or if it will work at all. It leaves you confused and scared, but overall, just really freaking happy that a writer like Sabaa Tahir exists. Cause trust me, she's wicked badass; just like her books.

9:18 PM No comments

What's it about?

"On a foggy summer night, eleven people—ten privileged, one down-on-his-luck painter—depart Martha's Vineyard on a private jet headed for New York. Sixteen minutes later, the unthinkable happens: the plane plunges into the ocean. The only survivors are Scott Burroughs—the painter—and a four-year-old boy, who is now the last remaining member of an immensely wealthy and powerful media mogul's family.

With chapters weaving between the aftermath of the crash and the backstories of the passengers and crew members—including a Wall Street titan and his wife, a Texan-born party boy just in from London, a young woman questioning her path in life, and a career pilot—the mystery surrounding the tragedy heightens. As the passengers' intrigues unravel, odd coincidences point to a conspiracy. Was it merely by dumb chance that so many influential people perished? Or was something far more sinister at work? Events soon threaten to spiral out of control in an escalating storm of media outrage and accusations. And while Scott struggles to cope with fame that borders on notoriety, the authorities scramble to salvage the truth from the wreckage." - Goodreads Synopsis

My Thoughts:

This book had SOOOOO MUCH POTENTIAL! ...and then it didn't. I don't even understand how this went so poorly. I loved the beginning and the entire plot but somewhere in between everything it just got so boring. WAY too much fluff. WAY too much backstory. I understand it's titled "BEFORE the fall" but quite honestly, I was more intrigued by Scott and his backstory and future rather than some other corrupt billionaires who have been cheating on their wives since day 2 of their marriage. NO thanks.

So. The reason i'm not giving this book only one star is because of Scott. Scott is what saved this book (even remotely) for me. I lived for the interactions between Scott and JJ and even Scott and Eleanor. But once we got to YET ANOTHER backstory of a billionaire, I lost interest immediately.

I think that if this book cut out every other character's backstory, this book would've been SO GOOD. But because I had to struggle through those other stories, I just did not like this book. There was too much filler and quite honestly, this book was taken in the wrong direction. The author focused on all the wrong things for far too long.

If this was less "Before the Fall" and more "After the Fall" I think it would've been much more enjoyable.

So. Unfortunately, I have to give this book 2 lonely stars.

11:11 AM No comments

What's it about?

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

She has embraced her identity as Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. But before she can reclaim her throne, she must fight.

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

The fourth volume in the New York Times bestselling series continues Celaena’s epic journey and builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world" - Goodreads Synopsis

My thoughts:

I was very worried I wasn't going to enjoy this as much as I did. I gave Heir of Fire only 3 stars because I found it quite boring. However, this book did redeem itself. I think I was able to enjoy this because all original characters were back together again. Not to mention, I finally understood the purpose of Manon and her story. Because forever I just did not see her purpose. Not even remotely.

So. For why I love this book: I love how Sarah J Maas wrote Aelin's character. I love how freaking MORE badass she is now, not to mention how brilliant she is. Major girl power. She 100% is always on top of her game and coming up with the next best plan. I loved the mind games she played with people to get what she wanted. If anyone wants a symbol of girl empowerment, look no further. This woman is seriously bad. ass.

Ok. Here comes the explanation for only 4 stars.

The name change. I will never STOP being confused about this. She will always be Celaena to me. I just wish Sarah J Maas had done without a permanent name change because boy does it screw me up. I get so lost trying to keep up with character's names throughout the MASSIVE story, and changing the main character's name did not help me keep everything straight in my head. Yes, I understand why it happened and why it was significant, but I could just not wrap my head around it.

But honestly, that's such a minor negative to this book that it really does deserve 5 stars. But I'd be lying if I said the permanent name change didn't irk me a bit.

Overall, I give Queen of Shadows 4 fiery stars.

Next stop: EMPIRE OF STORMS!

11:38 AM No comments

What's it about?

"Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control.

The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.

Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors.

But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat.

Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

The electrifying next installment in the Red Queen series escalates the struggle between the growing rebel army and the blood-segregated world they’ve always known—and pits Mare against the darkness that has grown in her soul." - Goodreads Synopsis

My Thoughts:

Now overall, I wouldn't say that this book was a dissapointment as a stand alone, but as the sequel to the series, It did not live up to the first book that I adored so much. It wasn't as gripping and heartbreaking as the first one was. I think the best way to describe it (in hopes that the next will be better) it was just a bridge between Red Queen and Kings Cage. I don't feel like any major developments occured, and if anything Mare became weaker and more selfish. I do have high hopes for Kings Cage though. Because I believe that this can be redeemed quite easily.

I still love the world they are in and the plot that is unfolded, but the characters in this book just did not evolve as I would have liked them to. And in a lot of novels, the characters make the story.

But, despite all of this being said, I will not hold this against the Red Queen series. I know that the first book was phenomenal, and the second book was in no way bad...it just did not live up to my expectations.

And if anything, it just made me crave Kings Cage more and more.

Overall, I give Glass Sword 3 stars.

SaveSave

11:53 AM No comments