Are You a Monster? 'This Savage Song' Review

This Savage Song

Author: Victoria Schwab

Goodreads / Amazon

There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

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I'm so honored to have an ARC of this book. Thank you, Emily for this ARC. Love you!

I wanted to like this book way more than I did. Sure, I did quite like it, but there were some things lacking.

First and foremost, August Flynn is amazing. He's so human it hurts. I adored him. He's not my favorite Schwab character, (By a landslide, that's Victor Vale) but I could really connect to August. He was caring. And he truly didn't want anyone hurt. A human in a monster's skin. Doesn't everyone feel like that sometimes?
His side of the story hurt my heart. I'd love to see more from him. Really.
(By the way, does anyone else read his name as Augustus? I'm not sure why, but I do.)

I want to touch upon Kate Harker for a quick second. She had an intersecting backstory. And if the story was just her story, I might have liked her more. But she acts so brash, so sometimes that it doesn't work. Yes, I know that's contradictory since I liked the brash Lila Bard from A Darker Shade of Magic, but Kate pushes it too far. And while she seems monstrous, her humanity is so significant that it negates her acts and just makes her a brat.

The second half of the book (With August and Kate on the run) was way more interesting than the two of them talking and getting to know each other. I'll touch upon my thoughts on the first half of the book later, but the second half was much better. I felt more engaged in the story and less bored.
As a reader, I prefer stories with action compared to long pieces of talking. Even if I write lots of dialogue in my own pieces.

And the twist ending. Man, I never expected that. It really shocked me. I never expected that. I guess, looking back, I could have guessed it. But still.

Per usual with Schwab books, the action was amazing. It was heart pounding and descriptive. I felt immersed in the fight scenes. I definitely wanted more.

Victoria Schwab is known for her A+ storytelling and worlds. But the world for this book was a bit confusing. I was a bit lost on how these monsters were created. (Just saying, if a Sunai went dark, wouldn't a new Sunai be created?) Admittedly, it's a new and strange world. But I felt like there were some gaps. Why did the Sunai use music? How exactly are these monsters created? What are their weakness? I was lost on whether this was a book about the monsters or the people in this monstrous world.

And the thing that I disliked the most was the slow start. There is too much time spent with August and Kate at Colton. I honestly didn't care much for the boring talk between the two of them. As I said, I prefer action. If the second half with the action and running had happened earlier, I might have been more interesting. This was a main sour point for me since I really couldn't get into the story. I actually had to put the book down. It was that hard to swallow.

What did you think of the book? Who was your favorite character? And are you a monstrous human or human monster?

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Do You Believe in Magic? 'The Crown's Game' Review

The Crown's Game

Author: Evelyn Skye

Goodreads / Amazon

Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia—and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the Tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.
And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the Tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death.
Raised on tiny Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter—even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has?
For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown’s Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with—beautiful, whip smart, imaginative—and he can’t stop thinking about her.
And when Pasha, Nikolai’s best friend and heir to the throne, also starts to fall for the mysterious enchantress, Nikolai must defeat the girl they both love... or be killed himself.
As long-buried secrets emerge, threatening the future of the empire, it becomes dangerously clear... the Crown’s Game is not one to lose.Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia—and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the Tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.
And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the Tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death.
Raised on tiny Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter—even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has?
For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown’s Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with—beautiful, whip smart, imaginative—and he can’t stop thinking about her.
And when Pasha, Nikolai’s best friend and heir to the throne, also starts to fall for the mysterious enchantress, Nikolai must defeat the girl they both love... or be killed himself.
As long-buried secrets emerge, threatening the future of the empire, it becomes dangerously clear... the Crown’s Game is not one to lose.

Do you believe in magic? Not many people do in 'The Crown's Game'. Magic is limited to four people: two enchanters and two mentors. Because two enchanters exist, they must fight in the Crown's Game.

Likes:

• Surprise surprise! I liked the romance. Okay....I didn't love it. But I felt something. It might be because of a recent love triangle post from a blogger (whose name I can't remember...nor can I remember the post. Sorry.) But I felt like I was seeing a different love rectangle. The romance seemed real. To a certain point. I could believe that Pasha fell for Vika, this dangerous beauty. I thought that was real.
• Wow. The ending felt like such a surprise. I thought there would be a cop-out escape. Both of them living, you know? But it wasn't like that. I might have been coddled by anime and happy endings. So this was a major shock to me. Nice taste of reality.

Dislikes:

• We had three main characters: crown prince Pasha, Enchanter One Nikolai, and Enchanter Two Vika. All of the characters felt very meh to me. They weren't really expanded. I think it's because there were three main characters. You couldn't focus on one for too long to get their emotions and perspective. I wanted more about them, but they didn't get enough time to provide their story.
• The Enchanters, especially Nikolai, overused magic. They used it for everything from cooking to cleaning. I think that they wouldn't survive in reality, without magic. This is one thing. Another is the seemingly godmodded version of magic. There is no end! They can do anything. With limitless resources. I hated that. There was no explanation for the overnight island or the dream benches. Please explain how these happened. OVERNIGHT. No? You can't? See my point?

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Mischievous Itazura and Badass Jane: 'Hour of Mischief

Hour of Mischief

Author: Aimee Hyndman

Goodreads / Amazon

Born in a whorehouse in the slums of Fortuna and burdened with a prosthetic arm, seventeen-year-old JANET REDSTONE doesn’t think she owes the Clockwork Gods anything—which is why she makes a living stealing from their temples. But when she lands her team in prison, making a pact with the God of Mischief, ITAZURA, is the only way to right her wrongs and free her friends.

Janet doesn’t trust Itazura as far as she can punch him, but with her soul in his hands, she has no choice but to do what he says. The clockwork gods and the bad-tempered elder gods of the ancient past are locked in a game of cat and mouse and the human realms are caught in the middle. If Janet can’t somehow convince the gods to step in a save the world, humanity is in an abyss of trouble.

Using her unconventional wits, an impressive tolerance to alcohol, and a strong right hook, Janet has to convince the gods that humanity is worth saving. Unfortunately, it’s a lot more difficult to stop an apocalypse when you’re slowly being driven crazy by the Lord of Mischief, especially when he starts growing on you.

I read this for my book club at school. I wasn't a big fan when I first started it. But I got into it. And it wasn't too bad.

Likes:

• Janet and Itazura are cool. They are both really sassy. Their sarcasm was amazing. I loved their light banter. Both of these characters were really cool. Janet had a lame name, though. But she was the type of female character I like. She didn't back down. She fought. She stood up for herself. She was a brave soul. And I loved her for wanting to save her friends. I treasure friends a lot, and this made me smile.

Dislikes:

• The romance was expected. But...it was kinda cute. I didn't get massive feels or anything. The two of them were cute together. They joked and made fun. It was hilarious. I want a friend like Itazura. I imagine it'd be fun.

• The world was confusing. There were too many gods. And the system was confusing. 12 gods? Why not...I dunno...14? I don't care if there are 12 hours on a clock face. Give me something interesting. And why is everything about the clock? Is there some deep time thing that I'm missing? Explain. Explain!

• How boring can a plot be? Randomly going out and asking gods for help? Yawn. Sure, there were small fight scenes, but I wasn't a huge fan. I wanted more action. Fight! I like fighting scenes much better than seduction ones.

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What in the World Just Happened? Aka My Thoughts During the Entire 'Wink Poppy Midnight'

Wink Poppy Midnight

Author: April Genevieve Tucholke

Goodreads / Amazon

Every story needs a hero.
Every story needs a villain.
Every story needs a secret.

Wink is the odd, mysterious neighbor girl, wild red hair and freckles. Poppy is the blond bully and the beautiful, manipulative high school queen bee. Midnight is the sweet, uncertain boy caught between them. Wink. Poppy. Midnight. Two girls. One boy. Three voices that burst onto the page in short, sharp, bewitching chapters, and spiral swiftly and inexorably toward something terrible or tricky or tremendous.

What really happened?
Someone knows.
Someone is lying.

This is not the book that pulled me out of my reading slump. But I still loved it. It was complex and confusing. It didn't make any sense. I did love part of it, though.

Likes:

• The toxic relationships intertwined. And I loved them. I'm not condemning toxic relationships, but I loved the way the three teens interacted. Poppy's domineering push towards Midnight. Midnight's shyness and submission towards Poppy. Poppy's confusing relationship with Wink. Wink and Midnight's love story. There was a web of tangled relations. I had to sort through the complicatedness of it all. And the toxicity of the relationships was awful. Truly. You couldn't help but feel for Midnight. But things weren't simple. There were so many sides to each relationship. It was super interesting to see how things played.

• I typically don't like artistic-y stories. They confuse me. I'm left behind. But the way the story was told was understandable for me. I write in the same manner. Repeating words. All that sort of thing. I understood this story much better.

Dislikes:

• The plot wasn't the type of plot I liked. It was kinda dull. There wasn't much pizazz. I wanted more scenes of Poppy in the Roman Luck house. I wanted more conflict. There was conflict, but it wasn't interesting. I wanted more Poppy on Wink. I wanted more of their story. Even if it's not action-y at all. I wanted more Hero and Villain action. There wasn't enough for me.
• The ending was super confusing. What happened? How did Poppy prove it? I wanted more information. Would Midnight go home? Where was home? What was his motivation? I had too many questions and no answers.

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Magical Sailing Ship? Yes Please!: 'The Girl From Everywhere'

The Girl From Everywhere

Author: Heidi Heilig

Goodreads / Amazon

Nix has spent her entire life aboard her father’s ship, sailing across the centuries, across the world, across myth and imagination. As long as her father has a map for it, he can sail to any time, any place, real or imagined: nineteenth-century China, the land from One Thousand and One Nights, a mythic version of Africa. Along the way they have found crewmates and friends, and even a disarming thief who could come to mean much more to Nix.
But the end to it all looms closer every day.
Her father is obsessed with obtaining the one map, 1868 Honolulu, that could take him back to his lost love, Nix’s mother. Even though getting it—and going there—could erase Nix’s very existence.
For the first time, Nix is entering unknown waters.
She could find herself, find her family, find her own fantastical ability, her own epic love.
Or she could disappear.

This book was one of the most anticipated 2016 debuts. Not just for me but for a lot of people. I'd seen the rave reviews. But when I first started this, I was in a slump. A very bad one, I might add. While this didn't pull me out of said slump, I did quite enjoy this book.

Likes:

• Kashmir was the bomb dot com. He was sassy and brash and loud. I adored his character. (Not that I'd date Kash. I'm spoken for. Twice over.) He was somebody I'd like to be friends with, though. He'd be a good support system. He really did care for Nix. I could rely on a person like Kash. Honestly, if this book was in his perspective, I'd love it a lot more. (Because I don't love Nix. More on that later.)
• Blake had his moments too. He was shy but sweet. His ideals, though, were a bit of a sour point for me. If I had to choose between Kash and Blake, I'd choose Kash as my best friend but Blake as my boyfriend. Why? Blake was steady. A rock. Kash would fly free, but you could fall back to Blake. Always.
• I love fantasy. The dragons and monsters. Ah, just thinking about it makes me happy. And a time traveling pirate ship? Score! While I loved the idea, the actuality was less than lacking. There wasn't a lot of time traveling. Which stinks. I was looking for an adventure. Not a we'll-stay-here-for-the-rest-of-the-book. I don't even know what that is. But I'll still give the idea brownie points for creativity.

Dislikes:

• The plot was kinda dull. I wanted something with more action. I mean...a time traveling pirate ship and no trouble? Impossible. I wanted swashbucklers on swashbucklers. Not boring heists. (And they were very boring. Nix doesn't get to do anything fun.) I wanted more time travel. Where was the time travel? Moreeee please!
• Nix was smart. I'll give her that. And very resourceful. But other than that...not very amazing. I didn't love her relationship with Slate. She didn't understand. He loved Lin. And he wanted nothing more than to return to her. What would you do as Slate? Have a broken heart forever? How about no? So I sorta agreed with Slate. (But he wasn't a saint either. He did do some bad things.) I found Nix was too whiny for my tastes. She was just a mopey, teenage girl. Not my favorite type of protagonist. But Kash would be fantastic as a protagonist. Just switch their roles and life would be better.

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Magic, Brotherly Love, and Awesomeness: 'A Gathering of Shadows'

A Gathering of Shadows

Author: VE Schwab

Goodreads / Amazon

Four months have passed since the shadow stone fell into Kell’s possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Rhy was wounded and the Dane twins fell, and the stone was cast with Holland’s dying body through the rift, and into Black London.
In many ways, things have almost returned to normal, though Rhy is more sober, and Kell is now plagued by his guilt. Restless, and having given up smuggling, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks like she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games—an extravagant international competition of magic, meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries—a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.
But while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life, and those who were thought to be forever gone have returned. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night reappears in the morning, and so it seems Black London has risen again—meaning that another London must fall.

 

How do you even start with AGOS? It's this amazing adventure you can't get enough of. Because of its awesomeness, I'll be doing a whole bunch of AGOS-related posts. Not that they'll all be posted at once or anything. It'll just be my homage to AGOS. 

But first...a review.

Victoria Schwab is known for amazing worlds and deep and heartfelt characters. I can agree with both. This review was going to be just flailing and immense fangirling. But I'll try to tone it down. 

Likes:

• We got to learn more about Kell. I felt like we didn't know enough about Kell in the first book. He wasn't as detailed. We didn't get a lot of his thoughts. I wanted more from him. And I got it with this book. We were given more of Kell's thoughts and emotions. I really got to know him through this book. And he was a fascinating character. He cared too much about the things he loved. And he felt longing and sadness. He was a caged bird, much like Holland. And he was ready to sing.
• There was more Lila action...and I loved that. Lila is an AMAZING person. She's badass to the max. No female character in the world can outshine Lila. Not to mention the fact that she crossdresses a lot. (Like...a lot a lot.) She's a storm in every way. And we really got to know her fighting style. She fought fiercely. I can't even imagine what her Gray London fights were like. All I wish was that I could see her fight. Just once! Why can't she be real?
• Not to mention the perspective from Rhy. Rhy was really the pretty boy, swoon-worthy brother character in ADSOM. But he's a human too. He loves Kell and his kingdom. He wants to protect it. Even if he isn't doing it in the best way possible. There's so much more to Rhy that we didn't know about. And it was amazing.
• Alucard Emery is fascinating. He's new to this book, but he already has a lot of history with Rhy and Kell. His relationship with Lila strengthens his image. He wears many hats. (Metaphorically...) And I just want to know more. What's up with his family life? What did he do to Rhy? I want moreee.

Dislikes:

• You can never really dislike something about a Schwab book. Her books are just so amazing. But there are things I felt lacking. But they were still amazing as is.
• The plot was a little boring. Not that I didn't enjoy all those Element Game scenes. (I can't wait for the ADSOM TV show because I'd love to see these fights. In HD.) But I'd like some more. More of what's going on with Holland. What happened? What's going on? Who is Osaron? There was so much more that could happen. 
• While Victoria tried to trick us by saying she doesn't have a cliffhanger...she totally has a cliffhanger. Gr... I can't wait for the next book in the series. I want to know what happened to Rhy and Kell. And what will happen to Holland. And who is Lila Bard? Victoria knows we'll all read her book. Why does she do this to us?!?!

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Being Human Sucks: 'Symptoms of Being Human'

Symptoms of Being Human

Author: Jeff Garvin

Goodreads / Amazon

The first thing you’re going to want to know about me is: Am I a boy, or am I a girl?

Riley Cavanaugh is many things: Punk rock. Snarky. Rebellious. And gender fluid. Some days Riley identifies as a boy, and others as a girl. The thing is…Riley isn’t exactly out yet. And between starting a new school and having a congressman father running for reelection in uber-conservative Orange County, the pressure—media and otherwise—is building up in Riley’s so-called “normal” life.

On the advice of a therapist, Riley starts an anonymous blog to vent those pent-up feelings and tell the truth of what it’s REALLY like to be a gender fluid teenager. But just as Riley’s starting to settle in at school—even developing feelings for a mysterious outcast—the blog goes viral, and an unnamed commenter discovers Riley’s real identity, threatening exposure. Riley must make a choice: walk away from what the blog has created—a lifeline, new friends, a cause to believe in—or stand up, come out, and risk everything.

My emotions when I saw this book were as follows:
Shock, disbelief
Excitement
Fear
Dread
Though not in that order. People were hesitant with this book since the last genderqueer book didn't accomplish a lot.

Likes:

• This book had real emotions and realistic portrayal. The story of Riley and Riley's troubles could be somebody else's. People get bullied over this. It's somebody's reality. I'm happy that the author wrote about this. He didn't hold back. He didn't hide the truth. He wrote about the bullying. And he went one step farther by showing the cyber bullying. In this day and age, people use social media to lash out at others. Cyber bullying is, sadly, something that happens. We can't prevent it really, unless you never use the Internet ever again. But then you'd be faced with real life bullying. And I'm not sure which is worse.
• The blogging aspect was amazing. A lot of people turn to social media to vent and figure things out. I mean, I do. Even now. Blogs are great outlets, for the writer and reader. I remember that Instagram let me vent and helped me figure out a lot of things. In middle school, I learned more about the world via Instagram. Social media can teach you, but it can also be destructive. I'm happy that this book also had the social media focus. Social media is amazing but also a little detrimental. Also, bloglr just makes me laugh. Bloglr? Haha. Perfect.
• The LGBT community was strong in this story. There was the Q. And the people who read Riley's blog. The sense of family was strong. I wanted more of that. It was intriguing to read. People who are outcasts band together. Even if they have nothing else in common. We're all different. But the same in a way. And we come together to form a community.

Dislikes:

• The lack of plot really annoyed me. It seemed to just go with the flow. There wasn't an overarching story. To put things bluntly, Riley moved to a new school, Riley met new people, Riley was bullied, Riley came out, and Riley dealt with the aftermath. That is putting things in the most simplistic manner, but the story didn't continue past that. I wanted more of Trans Health Con and the coming out, but the story was too focused on the beginning (with the blog and the bullying.) The thing is Riley didn't do much in the beginning. It was a lot about the dysphoria. And not much else. I wanted more of the story. More of the after-coming-out.
• Bec was just tiresome. Her mood swings and her appearances and disappearances were annoying me. I was sick of her. She was so rude to Riley, and she didn't deserve Riley. I just wanted to shake some sense into her. If I was given more about her life, I'd probably be more sympathetic. But this isn't Bec's story. It's Riley's.

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