Tag: romance

Review: The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

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Anna: This book calls for red lipstick and a glass of red wine!

I rarely read romance novels, but bookstagram made me do it! I heard so many good things about The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang.

I enjoyed this book and found it very addictive, and I read it in a span of two days. I enjoyed the representation in this book in the central asian characters and a protagonist who works in STEM and is on thee spectrum. I certainly think that Helen Hoang is doing good things for the genre. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with a protagonist on the spectrum, and I feel like I learned a lot from Stella.

I found this a fast-paced and enjoyable read, however it included many tropes overused in the romance genre. For example, the descriptions of Michael’s hotness and body were excessive, and his hot-headed jealousy and possessiveness of Stella were exhausting. More than once, I was sensing Edward Cullen vibes. 

The entire premise in which Stella pays for a practice boyfriend is ridiculous, even if it makes a little more sense because she’s on the spectrum and needs guidance in social situations. The reason Michael needs to escort in the first place, which is revealed a little later in the book, feels super convenient and hastily thought out.

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Overall, this was a fun, light read, but I’m never going to be a fan of romance!

Review: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

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Alexis:

The Bone Season is packed with worldbuilding information. From the first page, Shannon slams you into a futuristic London where clairvoyants have to hide in order to survive and avoid persecution. The main character, Paige, works for an underground crime gang of voyants, each with a varying forms of power. But when Paige is drugged and kidnapped, she’s forced into slavery by an alien race called the Rephaim.

I tried to read this book sometime late last year but I wasn’t in the mood. This time around, the beginning of the book was just as hard to get through. Shannon wastes no time trying to explain Paige’s world. She introduces a plethora of jargon that I had to slog through until I figured it out, or until Shannon gave an explanation. And once I got used to that, Paige was thrown into the Rephaim’s space, and then I had to learn a whole new set of jargon.

Shannon certainly understands the world she’s created. I do wish the beginning of the book wasn’t so much of a chore to get through. I never fully understood all of the terms or all that was happening, and maybe that’s partly my fault for being a fast reader and not letting the information properly sink in.  

On the plus side, the first half of this book felt wholly original, despite the dystopian world and the aliens. I enjoyed learning about the world once I understood it a little more. The voyants and Paige’s abilities surrounding dreamscapes were fascinating and well-written by Shannon. I also really enjoyed the plot.

My favorite part of the book was Paige. Sometimes I struggle with liking main characters, and oftentimes strong female characters are strong and impulsive for the sake of it. But I really connected with her character. I found her actions and feelings true to her character and her surroundings. I think her flashback scenes and memories could’ve happened earlier on, though.

My biggest issues with the book happened in the second half. I wanted to understand Nashira more, so that I could understand her better as the villian. I also wanted to get to know Warden better. I liked his character, but by the end, Shannon never fully explained his motives.

I’m interested to see how Shannon will create a seven book long series. She definitely teased a lot of information for the next book.

VERDICT: 4 stars

To check out the book, click here:

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SPOILERS BELOW:

 I had a feeling that romance was coming, but I didn’t want to believe it. Romance doesn’t fit in The Bone Season. It’s about survival and Paige finding herself and developing her powers.

It would’ve been better if it had grown over more time. But Paige didn’t trust Warden and then all of a sudden she was having feelings for him. It just doesn’t help that was a huge part of her being kept as a slave: beaten, broken, and even branded. His true intentions don’t really matter, because he was still involved in it. So it made the romance problematic for me.

Review: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

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Alexis:

Spoilers Below!

Overall, A Court of Wings and Ruin, the third book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses trilogy, was a 4 star read. It was more along the lines of the first book than it was the second book. However, I did have a list of issues with it that I will explain below!

I’ll start with what I liked. Maas’ writing shines when she writes action scenes. I loved reading the war scenes. I thought she did a great job with their pacing and descriptions.

I also loved that Rhysand fully transformed in the final battle. I was like, “Heck, yes!”

I also enjoyed having all the High Fae in the same scenes. Their histories and abilities were very interesting all pooled together.

As for what I didn’t like as much, for some reason, Maas’ writing is just a little bit worse in this book. She has a tendency to lean towards the occasional cheesy line, but this book seemed to bring her cheesiness out just a little more.

This book felt like Maas had been rushed, that she had a deadline that her publisher wanted her to keep, so she wrote this book quickly. And then it wasn’t edited enough. The pacing felt slow. This book is about war, and war does drag on, but the plot doesn’t flow as nicely as it did in A Court of Mist and Fury. Everything just felt slowed down.

And…the sex scenes did not fit as well in this book as they did in A Court of Mist and Fury. They felt cringey and all of them were basically a carbon copy of each other. There’s also a scene where Rhys tells Feyre, “You smell like blood,” after they fought in a battle. And then they have sex. Hmm. I don’t know about that.

And, my biggest issue. I am all for diversity, but not just for the sake of diversity. Mor’s reveal as bisexual was a complete cop-out from Maas. Mor’s been hiding that she’s bi…for 500 years?? Just so she won’t hurt Azriel’s feelings?? Her hiding this from her family for that long did not feel true to character.

As for the plot, I had issues with the fact that Feyre is insanely powerful and yet she HARDLY FOUGHT. Obviously, Rhysand has significantly more war experience, but Feyre is his equal, so they should’ve fought together. Her mention of, “You know, I don’t really like war,” was not a good enough reason for her not to fight.

As for the whole new cast of characters at the end, this also felt like a cop-out from Maas. When Rhysand asked why they couldn’t find them, their answer was, “Oh, I guess we hid too well, so even our friends couldn’t find us.”

If they had been such good friends/allies during the last war, they definitely would’ve found a way to keep in contact with Rhysand and his crew.

As for my last complaint, Armen should’ve died. Rhysand coming back from the dead made sense, but there’s no way Armen could’ve come back after all that.

Despite my issues, I enjoyed the book overall! I definitely think the trilogy is worth a read, just be aware that it isn’t perfect.

VERDICT: 4 stars

 

Review: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

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Alexis:

Okay, let me start off by saying I have a lot of feelings about this book, which is awesome, because if I book can dig down in me and make me feel all sorts of things, then I am here for it!

A Court of Mist and Fury builds off of A Court of Thorns and Roses but makes the world 10 times better. Plot? There’s lot of plot. Characterization? Tons of it. Tragic backstories and permeating feelings of guilt? There’s a lot of that, too. I love character driven stories, and this book dove deep into the characters of Feyre and Rhysand.

It’s hard to talk about this book without spoiling anything, but I’ll write my non-spoiler review first.

First of all, it’s important to address the fact that this book is a monster, as it weighs in at 626 pages. When I first got it from the library, I thought, “What can she possibly go on about for that many pages?”

I will admit, it took me a good 50 pages to get into it. The sex scene towards the beginning was cringey. The beginning was a little slow, but necessarily so, as Feyre dealt with the trauma from the end of the first book. But it quickly becomes interesting once Feyre enters the Night Court. I loved meeting a whole new cast of characters. Sometimes secondary characters feel too bare for me as a reader, but Rhysand’s crew felt very fleshed out.

Maas did a much better job of explaining the magic system, and I enjoyed learning about the world’s complicated history. I loved the whole atmosphere of the Night Court.

I enjoyed Feyre’s character development, and I really enjoyed learning about Rhysand. He’s such a complex character, and I loved learning about his motivations and his backstory. I’m also a sucker for the tall, dark, and handsome type.

Without spoiling anything, let me just say that this is the best relationship/romance I’ve read in a while. I wasn’t all for it in the first book; it was okay, but it was lacking a real depth. But Maas didn’t hold anything back in the sequel.

That being said, there were some small things in this book that I take issue with. While I enjoy Maas’ writing style overall, sometimes she throws out a line that makes me cringe. She writes “snarled” way too many times, and things like “said baldly.” She writes “he purred” more often than I ever want to read; I’m a firm believer in “said” is best. I know the characters are supposed to have a predatory side, but ugh. It was a little too cringey for me.

This book also negated the first book in a lot of ways, which I’ll go into in the spoiler-filled section of my review below.

If you’re debating reading the series, get through the first book so that you can get to this one! I loved the worldbuilding and I especially loved the character growth. I don’t give 5 stars lightly, but I was wholly engrossed in reading this. I stayed up past my bedtime reading this (whoops) and finished it the next day.

I’m excited to read the next one.

VERDICT: 5 stars

SPOILERY REVIEW BELOW:

 

Feyre + Rhysand—OH THANK GOD. Tamlin had no personality, and I was interested to see how Maas would further their relationship. But she hit it out of the park with Rhysand. He just oozes personality, and he and Feyre actually have chemistry! Yay! I’m very picky when it comes to relationships in books; often it feels too rushed or too out of nowhere. But Maas took the idea of a slow burn and stretched it, so that Feyre and Rhysand actually knew each other inside out and trusted each other with their lives.

I’m also down for anything with flying, and I loved how Maas described Rhysand and the other characters’ wings.

Like I said above, this book did negate some aspects of the first one. After everything Feyre went through to save Tamlin in the first book, she jumps awfully fast to Rhysand. I’m not complaining about it, because it honestly felt true to character, but it was a bit jarring at first. I know some other readers had issues with Tamlin’s actions in the beginning of A Court of Mist and Fury, and felt betrayed by his character and actions. But I wasn’t too fond of him as a character to begin with so…I didn’t mind!

And while Lucien was my favorite character in the first book, he acts like a shell of his former self in this one. But considering how his story arc ended, I’m sure I’ll see much more of him in the 3rd book!

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

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Alexis: Read 4/27/19

Spoilers Below!

While I have some mixed feelings about A Court of Thorns and Roses, overall, it was a 4 star read for me.

So, here’s the book in a nutshell: It starts out as The Hunger Games, then turns into Beauty and the Beast, and finally turns into Twilight.

I’ll start with what I loved about the book. While Maas writes the occasional cheesy and cringey line, I enjoyed her writing style overall. I love the way she describes color, and I was impressed by the landscape she painted in the beginning of the book. I related to Feyre in the beginning of the book the way I related to Katniss: she’s a girl turned hard from trying to survive, and I sympathized with her.

I found Tamlin an interesting character because of his role as a host and protector of his manor and land, because of his drive and sense of honor. His shapeshifting was written well. And I liked Lucien the most; he had the most vibrant personality of all the characters.

Once the plot picked up, I enjoyed the action-packed third section of the book. I think Maas’ writing shines the most when she writes action scenes. I also enjoyed (finally) learning about the political and historical backstories of the world.

I also liked the romance. The middle section of the book was very slow-paced, so Feyre and Tamlin’s budding romance didn’t feel too rushed or insta-love.

As for what I didn’t love about the book, my biggest issue was that most of the important backstory/plot points weren’t revealed until 250 pages in. Yep. 250 pages. Even the synopsis of the book includes the curse, which Feyre doesn’t know about until, again, 250 pages in. Here’s the thing: everyone knows the basis of Beauty and The Beast. So the main, mysterious plot of the most of the book wasn’t so mysterious, because this is a Beauty and the Beast retelling. If Maas had switched it up a little more, the reveals would have been more interesting.

I also had issue with some of the characters. I didn’t have any issue with Feyre, though I found her name annoying because I had to remind myself how to pronounce it. I’m also not a fan of Tamlin’s name; it just sounds like the name of a modern five-year-old boy. But that’s just personal preference. I wanted Tamlin to have more of a stand-out personality, especially since he doesn’t have much of a role in the latter half of the book. Rhysand has more personality than Tamlin, and unfortunately, I have a feeling a love-triangle is going to make an appearance in the next book.  

As for the ending, I guessed it about halfway through the book. There were too many similarities to Twilight, and I knew human-Feyre wouldn’t make it too much further in the series.

Overall, this was a fun and engaging read. Though the middle was a little slow, it allowed time to get to know the characters better. I enjoyed the final section of the book the best, despite the Twilighty ending. I’m definitely going to continue the series, as I tend to like the first book in a series the least!

VERDICT: 4 stars

Review: Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott

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Alexis: Read 4/18/19

I was hesitant to read this. I put it on hold at the library so I would have time to think about it for a while, and a month later, I got an email that I could pick it up. And I decided, you know what? Why not!

For those of you who don’t know, last year, my lung spontaneously partially collapsed twice, a couple months apart. After the second one, I had surgery to adhere my lung to my chest wall so that it won’t ever happen again. But because of this, Five Feet Apart was super relatable for me. I found myself knowing how horrible it is not to be able to breathe, to literally feel your lung keep you from taking a deep breath as it fills your body with pain.

That being said, I do not have cystic fibrosis, and I can’t begin to know what it feels like to have a terminal illness. But this book brought back a lot of memories and feelings, and I identified with parts of Stella and Will’s ordeal.

Now, onto the review. I don’t have much to stay about the book other than well done. This is definitely this generation’s The Fault In Our Stars. The story is told from two different perspectives: Stella’s and Will’s. I love alternating POV’s and I found it worked really well for the story. And while I wasn’t a huge fan of Stella or Will’s characters at the beginning, I really enjoyed their journeys and their full character arcs by the end.

The writing style is very conversational. I enjoyed how the authors had the characters use so much modern technology because it felt very true to people/teenagers in real life. I will say that yes, parts of this book are cheesy, and yes, I guessed the ending halfway through. But Stella and Will’s relationship moves at an appropriate pace. I liked all of the characters’ backstories and motivations.

All in all, I think this is a solid YA read that achieves awareness of cystic fibrosis while telling a good story. I’m excited to watch the movie!

VERDICT: 4 ½ stars

Review: Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani

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This was the perfect light read as I adjusted to my new job–one that I could pick up after a long day of work before bed. A mix of Gilmore Girls and Mama Mia, I enjoyed following the adventures of Ave Maria, the “town spinster” in her mid-30s in the rural mountain town of Big Stone Gap, Virginia. After the recent passing of her mother, Ave Maria is the only Italian left. Like any other small town, everyone in Big Stone Gap know everyone else’s business. So when Ave Maria discovers some long-buried secrets about her own identity, the rest of the town is quick to find out.

Parts of this book are downright hilarious. The part when Elizabeth Taylor comes to town actually had me laughing out loud. The same goes for the dog incident and the chicken bone incident. Classic.

I love the Bookmobile, and the fact that Ave Maria loves books. I love her devotion to her town and her mother, despite their faults. I love that Ave Maria is named after a prayer. I love that, because she’s an Italian in the mountains of Virginia, no one can pronounce her name. (My name is Anna-Marie–I can relate.)

Ave Maria does get a little annoying in her stubbornness to remain single,This would have been fine if she truly didn’t want a partner, but her actions tell otherwise. Sadly, she seems more jealous and vindictive toward love more than anything else. She turns men away and insists she’s happy, only to get jealous when those men turn to other women. There are parts of her character that I like and identify with, as I mentioned above, and then there are aspects to her that get really annoying, like her inability to notice what is literally in front of her nose.

Though I enjoyed Big Stone Gap overall, there are some things I can’t get past, which I’ll call here Early 2000’s Problems. It’s kind of like when you watch Gilmore Girls or an old rom com and you’re shocked at how something that you used to regard as so wholesome is actually filled with culturally insensitive, racist, and homophobic jokes. It’s not okay, but you have to approach these things in the context of time and how far we’ve come as a society in accepting people, even since the 2000s (and Big Stone Gap takes place in the late 70s).

Also very 2000’s is Trigani’s assumption that men and women live like species from different planets. There are literally lines such as, “this is how all men are,” and likewise, “ this is how all women are,”  this just isn’t the case! Again, I think that this has to be attributed to the time period (either that, or I just haven’t read a romance in a long time). There’s also an undertone in here that men are objects to be won by women and vice versa, which presents a big problem.

Despite the outdatedness, I still did enjoy reading Big Stone Gap, and I would recommend it if you’re looking for a small town southern romance.

VERDICT: 3 out of 5 books

 
Now for some very specific things that really irked me (spoilers below)–

 

The fact that Jack essentially bought Ave Maria’s heart when he paid for all her Italian relatives to visit.

The fact that when the family showed up Ave Maria’s own plans were completely pushed aside.

The fact that as soon as Ave Maria cemented her love to Jack, Jack’s mom IMMEDIATELY died, because she knew Jack was in love and didn’t need her anymore.

I totally thought the best friend and band director was going to come out as gay. Maybe he still does later in the series…?

I love Pearl, except that she is the token fat smart girl who discovered makeup and it made her life better.

Review: Caraval by Stephanie Garber

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Alexis: Read 3/2/19

Unfortunately, I found Caraval so much worse than The Night Circus. I know a lot of comparisons have been drawn between the two books, so I thought I would give you my own.

The Night Circus is beautifully written, with lush and lyrical descriptions, but is very slow moving and has a sparse plot. I can’t say the same thing about Caraval’s writing. It felt middle-grade (and not in a creative way) and cliché. However, it is fast-paced and there is a layered plot. Both books have insta-love, though I have to say the relationship in Caraval actually felt more convincing.

So let’s delve more into Garber’s writing. Throughout the book, she relies on one particular, peculiar type of metaphor: the insert color was insert emotion. Here’s an example: “…a blaze of shimmery gold, the color of magic and wishes and promises of things to come” (14). Here’s another: “A ruby welt bloomed across his cheek. The color of rage and punishment” (45). Here’s a third: “…a rich cerise—the color of seduction and secrets” (660).

I usually love repetition, whether in motifs, anaphora, etc. But the repetition of these metaphors drove me crazy. They’re cliché and terrible and made me say “really??” out loud too many times. And none of them even made sense!

Another thing that drove me crazy was that half of the plot was predictable. You know from the beginning that Scarlett is going to get together with Julian. There was only one plot point towards the end that I didn’t see coming.

As for the characters, I only liked Julian, but only because he’s the only character with somewhat of an interesting personality. He’s your classic “dark and handsome but is he good or bad?” type of guy with Edward-Twilight caramel eyes: “light brown, the color of caramel and liquid amber lust” (172). The descriptions of him were super cringey.

I found Scarlett to be too whiny and annoying, and Donatella wasn’t much better. Even their names seemed to get in the way of the story; it was as if their names drew too much attention from it. It doesn’t help that Scarlett’s name is also a color, so her name is thrown around with all of the cringey color metaphors. One of the characters even says of Scarlett, “You’re so dramatic, you would’ve made a fantastic performer” (308). And god, was he right.

The dialogue doesn’t have any subtext. I absolutely hated that Governor Dragna is described as dragon-like. And I could’ve cared less about the plot of this book.

I think the one word that sums up this book is cringeworthy. I really wanted to like it, I enjoyed how the book opened up with letters, and I initially though Garber’s worldbuilding was good (in the first 10 pages). But this obviously wasn’t the book for me.

VERDICT: 1 and ½ out of 5 books

Review: The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo

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Alexis: Read 2/27/19

The Night Tiger is a fascinating blend of magical realism, historical fiction, romance, and murder mystery. It follows two main characters: Ji Lin and Ren. Ji Lin is the apprentice of a dressmaker who is also secretly a dance-hall girl. Ren is an eleven-year-old houseboy who recently switched masters due to his old master’s death. Their lives come together when Ji Lin finds a severed finger and tries to figure out where to return it.

I love that the book is set in 1930’s colonial Malay, now modern Malaysia. This makes for a rich and cultural setting, and I loved reading about the different languages spoken and the foods eaten. I loved Choo’s descriptions of clothing from Ji Lin’s point of view, and how she showed England’s rule and influence over the culture of Malay.

Throughout the book, Choo focuses on the superstitions based on chinese numbers, as well the folklore of weretigers. She even includes a section explaining these at the end of the book, which I wish were placed before the book as pretext, but I still appreciated her including them at all.

The first 30 pages were a little slow, and I had to get used to Choo’s writing style and tone. But then I was hooked. This isn’t a fast-paced book, and the mystery is revealed slowly. Though the main plot is fairly slow, there were enough subplots to hold my attention.

I loved Ji Lin as a character. She’s a classic modern day heroine in 1930’s Malaysia, yet she also fits in perfectly in the time period. She’s intelligent and clever and isn’t afraid to speak her mind. Yet, unlike where a lot of strong female characters seem to fail, she is still feminine and caring. I also really enjoyed Shin, her step brother’s, character. I found he and Ji Lin to have a lot of chemistry, and I found their relationship moved in a natural direction.

What I didn’t like about the book: the switching POVs. Ji Lin’s chapters were first person, past tense, while Ren’s chapters were in third person, present tense. And every once in a while, I was thrown into William Acton’s POV (Ren’s new master). It would have served the book better if both Ji Lin and Ren’s chapters were in first person, or, honestly, if the whole book was in Ji Lin’s perspective. Sometimes Ren felt like an afterthought.

I really enjoyed The Night Tiger’s setting, atmosphere, and characters. I wish the ending had tied up some of the loose ends, but overall, this was an interesting and unique read. Just don’t read it if you get queasy at the mention of severed fingers!

VERDICT: 4 out of 5 books

 

SPOILERS BELOW:

I’m not really even sure how to address the twin issue. Why do authors always feel like one of the twins has to be dead? I enjoyed Ren’s “cat whiskers” sense, but Yi’s role in the story was kind of “eh” for me.

I actually really liked the fact that Ji Lin and Shin fell in love. Their relationship, and the progression of their relationship, felt very real to me, and I loved the dynamic. I didn’t find it weird because they were so close and important to each other and not actually related.

However, I wasn’t a fan of how Shin’s character progressed. He professed his love for Ji Lin, only to beg her to have sex with him…? It felt completely out of character, as Shin was nothing but respectful towards Ji Lin, and even though he was portrayed as a womanizer, I knew from the beginning that it was obviously just a front. I felt like their almost-bedroom scene could have gone very differently. But, in the end, I was glad Ji Lin stood up for herself and decided to wait on marriage and pursue a career. It felt true to her character.

 

Flashback Friday: YA Chick Lit

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Alexis:

Happy Friday!

Anyone looking for some good YA chick lit? These were our favorites when we were teens!

  • Prada & Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard
  • How to Be Popular by Meg Cabot
  • Sweethearts by Sara Zarr
  • Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
  • The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
  • The Opposite of Me by Sarah Pekkanen
  • The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer Smith

If you’re looking for a good Pride & Prejudice retelling that includes time travel, Prada & Prejudice is for you. Sarah Dessen books are teen classics, though these two are our personal favorites; How to Be Popular is witty; Sweethearts is deep and, well, sweet.

 The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is a fun and lighthearted read that’s perfect to read on a flight. The Opposite of Me is about twins, and though we read it as teens, it’s the only book on this list that isn’t technically YA.

I plan on getting some writing done today and then finishing The Gilded Wolves, so keep an eye out for a review. What are your Friday plans?