Bookworm Extraordinaire

I noticed I had some people liking my reviews of the other books so I figured I’d share this.

There’s a fifth one now! It’ll be read and reviewed for sure!

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa.

This was yet another series I was tripping over myself to purchase simply because I adored the covers. Little did I know it would end up being really good.

Though it was a little obvious from the beginning what Robbie really was, I wasn’t expecting him to be who he was. I was expecting the presence of the Seelie court and the Unseelie court, and the fact that they weren’t a part of the human side of the world, but for some reason the presence of Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream threw me through a total loop.

The storyline was also a tad predictable (not Kagawa’s fault, I’ve read SO MANY books that have to do with the fey that it’s easy to tell where a story could be going) but really well fleshed out. Though it was hinted at who Meghan, the main character, would fall for, it still seemed a little abrupt when it actually happened, and I was like, “Oh! Oh dear, where did that come from?” Again, not a bad thing. And the way the ended cut off? Though I hate when that happens, I had the entire series within my arsenal this time around and was ready for the next the moment the last one ended, and I ended up liking the way it went out. Not to mention the entire book.

My rating: 5/5

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver.

THIS was such a good book. Reading the back gives you the idea of what the book is about, but there’s really so much more to the story than just that.

The main character, Samantha, dies at the end of one day, and wakes up the next to find she’s reliving the day she had just died on. At first, she doesn’t realize that she’s reliving it, but it doesn’t take long for it to click, and then she’s on the move trying to figure out what she has to fix to get herself out of the seemingly endless loop. Plus she does a few other things she would probably never do on normal circumstances along the way.

I really liked how everything played out. The way that Kent and Juliet played their parts and how Sam handled everything that was happening and taking control when she had found what she needed to do. She also didn’t give up when the day had ended and she would wake again to find herself having to live it all over again.

I definitely recommend this to anyone who’s looking for something to busy themselves with.

My rating: 5/5

The Girl Who Played Go by Shan Sa.

Picked this up at the used bookstore solely because of the fact it’s about an Asian girl. I’m such a fanatic about that stuff, it’s not funny. I wasn’t expecting it to be as sad as it ended up being.

If I had read the back before actually reading the book, I probably would have been better prepared, as it’s said to be “a Chinese twist on Romeo and Juliet…” which was entirely true. You know how Romeo and Juliet goes, and this follows pretty closely to the concept. My only wish was for a little more interaction between the Romeo and the Juliet of this tale, but that’s the romantic in me that refuses to keep her opinions to herself.

Nonetheless, it was pretty good. Not my favorite, but pretty good.

My rating: 3/5

A Dream Undone by Jeremy Bronaugh.

This book was received from the author for review.

The first thing I must say is that this was incredibly well-written. Really, I’m hard to please when it comes to writing, and this blew me away. The second thing is that it is very, very dark. It covers multiple areas including suicide, self-mutilation, drug-use, you know the like.

The main character, Brody (points for the original naming, I don’t think I’ve ever heard that one in a book before), is introduced to us right after his girlfriend died in a car accident, and he’s convinced it was suicide because of him. Unfortunately, he has a good reason to believe so. From there, we follow Brody as he goes to college, goes through girls, and gets involved with drugs. This isn’t light-hearted stuff, to be blunt, this is some real frighteningly real shit people. I was a little stunned by the time I had finished, I’m a tad of a wimp.

It was haunting how real his ordeal felt, and I account that to the, again, really excellent writing. I send out a warning to people who can’t stomach this stuff, but to those of you who can, I would give this a shot, if only because of just how well it’s written.

My rating: 4/5

Buy the book here!

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.

I picked this up because it was yet another book (in a long list) that I have not read that people expect me to have already. Not my best sentence right there, but what can you do.

Anyway, there’s a lot hiding between the pages of this little book, and I was fairly shocked at how many points it hit as I was reading through it. Lots and lots of things that high school kids have to go through even today (the book takes place in 1991/1992), and poor Charlie is stuck in the middle of it. And then you get to the very end and find out something fairly horrible about Charlie’s childhood.

The characters are something I was torn on. I liked Patrick a lot, and Charlie’s sister was okay for me; Mary Elizabeth got on my nerves and Brad was a jerk (though I can’t really blame him after the indecent with his father); I both liked and hated Sam. I liked her one minute, hated her the next, and then went back to liking her. I was seriously in between whenever she came into the picture.

Anyway, it was a pretty good book and I’m glad to have read it.

My rating: 4/5

Ascend by Amanda Hocking.

I’m sorry to say that I didn’t like this third book as much as I had liked the first two. It was still written very well, the characters were still kept in character, and the plot was resolved with little to no loose ends, but something about this one, and I really, honestly can’t put my finger on it, kept me from liking it.

So, when the book starts, we pretty much pick up where the last left off, with Wendy about to be married to Tove. No, they still don’t love each other (by now you should know why Tove doesn’t love Wendy), and yes, Wendy is still having her love battle, but that will finally be settled. I kind of saw it coming, but I was still a little surprised with who she picked. Nonetheless, she had her reasons for picking who she did, and I don’t blame her.

We also finally get our resolve with Oren and the battles between the kingdoms. Hocking really did wrap everything up nicely, and that’s always a big thing for me, so I really can’t figure out why something, for me, just felt off when I was reading it. Nonetheless, read this one if you’ve already read the first two. I think something horrible of not finishing a series when you’re so close to the end.

My rating: 3/5

Torn by Amanda Hocking.

And the plot thickens! Like, holy crap it’s seriously getting thick. Plus, Wendy’s got some serious love issues with more than just Finn. Seriously, forget the love triangle, for a while there it was on a whole other shape level.

I’m loving how things are going, though. Even though Wendy is confused as hell, her commanding side is really starting to show through, and she’s really growing into a queen. Many things are being revealed, one of them being a something about Tove, which complicates things. And Duncan! Poor Duncan!

Duncan is my favorite character, hands down. I adore him.

Mt rating: 5/5