Review: Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Date started: April 17
Date finished: April 24
Book 35/52 in 2017. 
Rating: 3 stars

I wasn't CRAZY about Caraval, even though I've been waiting for more than a month for it to be my turn to check it out at the library. It was definitely enjoyable and intoxicating at times, but I stumbled over the storyline so often and found myself getting as confused by the magic as Scarlett was getting mystified by it. Just when I thought I knew what was up, it changed on me.

I'm sure that was the entire purpose of Caraval, but it didn't thrill me on every page. I'm still not entirely sure I understand everything that happened, but maybe typing up this review in the dark of my flight to Sacramento will help clear my mind.

Anywho, here's the Goodreads synopsis.

Remember, it’s only a game…

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval…beware of getting swept too far away.

Read ahead at your own risk. There will be ~spoilers~.

Wow, wow, wow. Caraval was beautifully told. The world TKTK built was so easy to envision, and I loved the descriptions of people and magic and the game. You could tell TKTK was so thoroughly immersed in her world, and she brought you in, page by page, word by word. Beautiful prose, check.

But there's the catch – it was sometimes so beautiful, I stumbled. I missed something. Maybe something I was supposed to miss, maybe something important that would've made another moment make more sense to me. I got caught up and had to reread often.

Scarlett and Julian are two of my favorite fantasy characters that I've encountered this year, and the attraction that develops between them, while fast-paced, feels OK to me because who wouldn't fall in love faster when magic was involved? I bought that.

And Scarlett is so beautifully complex. The way she struggles between loving her sister and wanting to be loved and safe – because she feels like she can't put her own life above Tella's – really stuck out to me. And she was just so darn smart. She didn't need help from anyone to get where she needed to go, and she listened to those around her. And that's why she solved the game.

Sort of?



And that leads me to... wait, whaaaaat?

Here's the good: I loved the IDEA of Caraval. The magic. Legend. Buying a dress or your fortune with your secrets. It was all so fascinating and just plain COOL.

But, like, what the heck happened? Julian was dead... then he wasn't? Tella has the most CLIMACTIC death... and then she's suddenly not?

The letters between Tella and Legend didn't clear up nearly as much for me as they did for Scarlett, so I finished Caraval with nothing but question marks. It marred the otherwise beautiful experience of reading the story.

I get it, I get it. I'm not SUPPOSED to know what was real and what was part of the game. That's the game. And by reading this, I was playing the game. But seriously. I needed a few breadcrumbs to make it out without a brain freeze.

• This is so small and petty. BUT Scarlett knew that Dante's sister had been turned to stone, and Dante thought she was dead. She saw her in the store, turned to stone because she had tried to steal. She never told anyone. That bothered me multiple times when it was clear they were worried about her. (Obviously, they WEREN'T worried about her, in the end.)

• I never quite bought why the father, Governor Dragna, is SO horrid, even if he crumpled and hardened after he lost his wife. Maybe we will learn more in the next installment (assuming the final letter makes it pretty obvious there will be more), especially if it involves their mother. But his cruelty seems more like a necessary plot point than a character trait, and I never understand or believe it. It could never be justifiable, but I'd like to understand why a father would beat one daughter to punish the other.

• Also a small detail, but wasn't the description of Scarlett's dress wonderful? I loved that it had a mind of its own and like to think it was Tella's idea – she, too, had a mind of her own.

• This story was excellent in that it could handle a serious romance and a strong sibling bond at the same time. I don't think it's easy – because no matter which you prefer to read about, you spend half the book wondering when you can get back to the relationship you care about. But I cared about both, deeply.

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Review: History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

Date started: April 12, 2017

Date finished: April 14, 2017

Book 30/52 in 2017.

★★★

I finished History is All You Left Me on the ride to D.C. last weekend, and I ended feeling very underwhelmed. It wasn't a bad read, but it didn't thrill me and even though the book tackles a lot of grief and loss, I never felt compelled to cry. I'm very emotional. I should probably cry. It's a bad sign if I don't cry.

But the main reason I couldn't fall in love with History is All You Left Me is because of the characters. Griffin, Jackson, Wade and even Theo, in Griffin's flashbacks... freaking heck. They are all so annoying!

**If you have not yet read History is All You Left Me, be warned that there are spoilers past this point!**

The plot of History is All You Left Me was definitely the most compelling – Griffin, a junior in high school, is doing everything he can to survive the grief he feels after the death of Theo, his first love and high school boyfriend. The story itself is so compelling, even though I didn't feel quite as emotional as I expected when I read the book jacket synopsis. 

Griffin's journey to feeling OK again, even just a little OK, is relatable for anyone who's ever felt loss, and that's what kept me going even when he said something ridiculously pretentious or had sex with Jackson – I mean, are you freaking kidding me?????????

Adam Silvera writes very straightforward fiction, and I always appreciate that. I hate having to reread a paragraph five times to figure out what the hell it means. But his dialogue sometimes made me cringe – Griffin and the other teenage boys just don't talk like any teenage boy I've ever encountered.

Silvera's writing flows. It's easy to read, it's easy to sit down and read 100 pages in one sitting without looking up. That's one of my favorite things.  

If the story itself had not been as interesting as it was, I would have ditched this book within the first handful of chapters. The characters agitated the heck out of me. Of course I felt bad for Jackson and Griffin both, and of course I raged with Griffin when he raged at Jackson, but I couldn't handle either of them, or Wade, or Theo, or Griffin's parents, or anyone, really. Jackson's dog was OK. 

But I can't quite put my finger on it – what was it about all of these characters that annoyed me so badly? I really can't figure it out, but I know there was something that made me roll my eyes. 

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Review: The End of Oz by Danielle Paige

Date started: April 2, 2017

Date finished: April 5, 2017

Book 28/52 in 2017.

My rating: ★★

The End of Oz is the fourth book in Danielle Paige's Dorothy Must Die series, and it is by far my least favorite. I have mixed feelings about this series, anyway, and if I didn't care so much about Nox (not Nox and Amy, just Nox) I probably would've stopped reading halfway through the first book.

There are a few reasons I couldn't stand the fourth installment in this series, and I'll really dig into them below, but my main problem: Never once did I think everything wouldn't be OK. There were a few moments where Amy was thinking, "Am I going to die? I might die." and even when she was scared to death, I was more like, "Eh. She'll survive." 

Not that I wanted Amy to die, but I would've loved if Paige had inspired a little fear in me while I was reading. My heart rate didn't go up for a darn second.

Here's the Goodreads synopsis...

In this high-octane fourth book in the New York Times bestselling Dorothy Must Die series, Amy Gumm must do everything in her power to save Kansas and make Oz a free land once more.

At the end of Yellow Brick War, Amy had finally defeated Dorothy. Just when she and the rest of the surviving members of the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked thought it was safe to start rebuilding the damaged land of Oz, they realized they’ve been betrayed—by one of their own. And Dorothy might not have been so easily defeated after all.

In the fourth installment of the New York Times bestselling Dorothy Must Die series, the magical Road of Yellow Brick has come to the rescue, and whisked Amy away—but to where? Does the Road itself know where she needs to go to find the help that she needs?

Welcome to the other side of the rainbow. Here there’s danger around every corner, and magic shoes won’t be able to save you.

None of my favorite characters – Glamora and Lulu, just to name a few – made a significant, real appearance in the fourth installment of Dorothy Must Die, excluding Nox, who is the only person whose fate I cared about at all throughout The End of Oz. I guess I was concerned about Dustin Jr., but only because he's a baby – but Danielle Paige mostly left him alone, and he didn't make an appearance either. This book focused mostly on Nox, Amy and Madison in Amy's point of view and Dorothy and the Nome King in Dorothy's point of view. (Which, if we want to go there, almost destroyed the fading desire I had to begin with to finish this book.) 

We meet two new characters – Langwidere and Bupu – who have a prominent role in The End of Oz. Langwidere gets a 7 out of 10 from me, but Bupu was the most annoying little Munchkin. I always hated how the Dorothy Must Die series is so light on Munchkins, but if they all act like Bupu, well. That's not such a big loss.

There's a lot going on in this one, but at the same time, there's not much going on at all. Everything transpires in just a few days, and never once am I overwhelmed by action – that's out of the ordinary for Paige. There are usually at least three battle scenes or other missions before the Big Kahuna, but I would call The End of Oz peaceful by those standards. Boringly so. High octane? Not so sure about that.

Without giving too much away... Turns out, Dorothy is alive. I think we all assumed that was the case, right? She's alive, and the Nome King has whisked her away – apparently to marry her. Nox, Amy and Madison are riding the yellow brick road to somewhere... and that somewhere turns out to be Ev. They encounter the evil Princess Langwidere, who isn't quite so evil as the rumors make her out to be, and all of her creepy crawly henchmen, and somehow this is pretty much the plot. 

I've always felt like Paige tried a little too hard to speak like the 20-something young adult fiction fan who was reading her books and posting on Instagram about how great they are, and this wasn't any different. At some moments, Paige is trying to be very powerful and thoughtful, and at others, it's a giant cheeseball. I'm a huge fan of edible cheeseballs, not so much of the verbal ones.

If there wasn't bad language and some PG-13 moments, I'd say this reads more like a middle grade fantasy series than a young adult series. If you scrapped out the f-bombs that felt forced anyway, you'd be good to go.

• I 100 percent did not need or want to read entire chapters in Dorothy's point of view, and yet... Her narrative voice was as sickening as one would think from this character that Paige created, and it made me groan. I rushed through those pages and could hardly stand reading through Dorothy's dialogue with Bupu the Munchkin. Her narrative didn't help me understand her at all or feel anything for her as a character, so I just don't see why it played such a big role in The End of Oz.

• Nox and Amy finally decide to *be together* about halfway through The End of Oz, and then the ending comes along. I'm going to try very hard not to spoil anything, but FOR GOD'S SAKE, DANIELLE PAIGE. I shipped Nox and Amy as much as anyone – Nox deserves to be happy, even if Amy is incredibly annoying – but I wish Paige would make things a little less convenient.

• I already started this rant above, but... The thing I dislike most about this series is it doesn't really keep me in suspense. I never worry about the safety or the future of the characters I love or the characters that are most vital to the plot – because even if they die, there's a 99.999999 percent chance that they aren't really dead! (Cough, Mombi and Gert, cough.) ((You learn this pretty early on so it's not a huge spoiler. Sorry if it isn't. They don't even show up in this book.)) There's no reason to think, "Oh god! Nox is going to die! He's going to die!" because I know that Paige would 1) never kill Nox to begin with and 2) bring him back if she did make us think he was dead.

• Oh, jeeze. I'm confident that there has to be something I really loved about this book, but it's not coming to me right now. That's not a good sign. 

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Review: King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard

Date started: March 26, 2017
Date finished: April 1, 2017
Book 26/52 in 2017.
My rating: ★★★

King's Cage is the third in the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard. I've been following this series since the beginning, but it's never blown me away. This installment isn't any different – it doesn't stand out, and if you hadn't read the first or second book, you probably could read this one without feeling like you've missed much.

I enjoyed certain parts, and felt like other parts dragged on. I also was not sold on Cal and Mare's romance anymore, and I could care less about Maven. And for some confusing reason, the POV switches between Mare and Cameron. Do you remember who Cameron is? No? I didn't either.

For how long King's Cage was – and it was long, very long – it really didn't have much in it that stood out to me, other than Evangeline's side plot, which I thought Aveyard handled beautifully.

Here's the Goodreads synopsis...

In this breathless third installment to Victoria Aveyard’s bestselling Red Queen series, allegiances are tested on every side. And when the Lightning Girl's spark is gone, who will light the way for the rebellion?

Mare Barrow is a prisoner, powerless without her lightning, tormented by her lethal mistakes. She lives at the mercy of a boy she once loved, a boy made of lies and betrayal. Now a king, Maven Calore continues weaving his dead mother's web in an attempt to maintain control over his country—and his prisoner.

As Mare bears the weight of Silent Stone in the palace, her once-ragtag band of newbloods and Reds continue organizing, training, and expanding. They prepare for war, no longer able to linger in the shadows. And Cal, the exiled prince with his own claim on Mare's heart, will stop at nothing to bring her back.

When blood turns on blood, and ability on ability, there may be no one left to put out the fire—leaving Norta as Mare knows it to burn all the way down.

1. Evangeline turns out to be a really complex, interesting character.

I never really hated Evangeline in the first two books, but she was an obvious villain, with not much else to her than that. In the third installment, Evangeline is given purpose and something to drive her, and I love the character of Elane. I don't want to spoil anything, but Evangeline and Mare's interactions absolutely blew me away.

2. Mare transforms into a less whiny, more bearable, more real person. She needed it.

Honestly, I wanted to flip past all of Mare's chapters in the second book, but I was able to appreciate her narrative much more this go-around. Mare is suffering at the hands of Maven, and even when she is free, she struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder from his abuse and torture. She realizes how many people she hurt, but she's bigger than that, and she pushes forward more self-aware and aware of the world around her.

3. There are a few really interesting character additions this go around. 

I already mentioned Elane, and she isn't my favorite character addition, necessarily, but I love the way she changes everything about Evangeline and the way I viewed Evangeline as a character. The other characters we encounter who have the same power as Mare might be my favorite – finally, finally, the lightning girl isn't the only one with those kinds of powers. She needed a reminder that she is not special.

1. Mare and Cal's romance is like a campfire that's almost entirely burnt out. 

Aveyard is trying and trying to make it work, and it's like the characters are screaming back, "ENOUGH ALREADY, LADY! We have NOTHING in common!" But they fight through it and you almost feel something for them both in the end, but not quite. I could care less if they were together or apart. Mare was way more interesting with Maven – not necessarily romantically, but just as his biggest downfall.

2. This book is forgettable. 

I just felt like most of King's Cage kept me waiting, waiting, waiting for something to happen... and then nothing happened. There were a few big plot moves, but in all, this felt like a book Aveyard had to write to meet her deadline and get something published to prep for the fourth book – more like a stepping stone, not a highly-awaited third book in a beloved series.

3. Wait, who's Anabel Lerolan and why is she suddenly the most important player in the game? 

I don't even want to get into it. Am I supposed to know who she is? I'd never heard of the lady before, and all of a sudden she was ruining Cal's and Evangeline's lives in one fell swoop? Alrighty, she can go.

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review: By Your Side by Kasie West

Date started: March 24, 2017
Date finished: March 26, 2017
Book 23/52 in 2017.
My rating: ★

Oh, Kasie West. Oh, By Your Side. Oh, terrible, fluffy fiction.

This is the second book review I've written this week that is not getting a "three favorite things" section. At least with this one, I think it's pretty clear why I can't think of anything good to say: This was the absolute worst book I've read in 2017. I enjoyed nothing. I don't know why I refused to DNF it, but I trucked through it – probably just so I could write a review about how absolutely awful it was. Kasie West's fiction is getting progressively more annoying and eye roll-worthy, and I will shout it from the rooftops how bad this book was. 

Anywho, here's the Goodreads synopsis...

In this irresistible story, Kasie West explores the timeless question of what to do when you fall for the person you least expect. Witty and romantic, this paperback original from a fan favorite is perfect for fans of Stephanie Perkins and Morgan Matson.

When Autumn Collins finds herself accidentally locked in the library for an entire weekend, she doesn’t think things could get any worse. But that’s before she realizes that Dax Miller is locked in with her. Autumn doesn’t know much about Dax except that he’s trouble. Between the rumors about the fight he was in (and that brief stint in juvie that followed it) and his reputation as a loner, he’s not exactly the ideal person to be stuck with. Still, she just keeps reminding herself that it is only a matter of time before Jeff, her almost-boyfriend, realizes he left her in the library and comes to rescue her.

Only he doesn’t come. No one does.

Instead it becomes clear that Autumn is going to have to spend the next couple of days living off vending-machine food and making conversation with a boy who clearly wants nothing to do with her. Except there is more to Dax than meets the eye. As he and Autumn first grudgingly, and then not so grudgingly, open up to each other, Autumn is struck by their surprising connection. But can their feelings for each other survive once the weekend is over and Autumn’s old life, and old love interest, threaten to pull her from Dax’s side? 

1. Autumn has no personality. 

Autumn's personality in one word: Anxiety. THAT IS NOT A PERSONALITY, KASIE WEST. Mental illness is not a personality trait. And it certainly shouldn't be all that Autumn is – except when she conveniently decides she wants to turn her anxiety off so it doesn't get in her way anymore. Because, that's normal. Right?

I got through half the book before I asked myself what the main character's name was. It never occurred to me and I was never curious. Because it didn't matter what her name was. She was a white girl with no problems, but the author realized she had no problems so she gave her a very real mental illness – but only to be used when it was convenient for the plot's sake. Get away from me, Kasie West. Everyone in the world who struggles with anxiety on a daily basis deserves way better than you.

2. While I'm at it, neither does Dax.

No long rant on this one – he's boring. He has problems, but really, he is predictable and simple and boring. I've read a lot of books where one of the characters was in or had previously been in foster care, and West really glamorized Dax's situation. Obviously, the foster parents he lives with in the beginning are terrible people, kicking him out and blaming him for running away, but this huge deal was made about Dax going to a group home and losing his freedom. Really, his worst nightmare was structured homework and friend time? Jeeze.

3. Autumn's friends SUCK. Why in the world are these the people she spends her time with?

Her friends don't stand out from each other – every single thing any of them say could've been switched to another character, and it wouldn't have been confusing or weird. I remember two of them – Lisa and Dallin – because their names are repeated more often than the others, but honestly, they are all the same.

Dallin also sucks in his own right because who bullies their "friend" and focuses more on what a bad person they are when they should be focusing on their best friend who is in the hospital? This guy's priorities are totally out of whack, and I don't know anyone, even a teenager, who would act like that.

4. Who gets locked in a library for three days and never reads a single book? Ridiculous.

I will never understand this.

5. And the book ends with everything tied up with a neat little bow.

*eyeroll*

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review: frostblood by elly blake

Date started: March 19

Date finished: March 19

Book 22/52 for 2017.

My rating: ★★★

I knew when I put Frostblood by Elly Blake on my hold list at the library that I was risking getting myself into a miserable situation where I'm reading a book I swear I have read before. The synopsis reminded me so much of Red Queen, I'm surprised that I went through with checking it out and reading it. But I did, and so, I have no one to blame but myself.

Frostblood lacks surprises, and even when Blake attempted to throw me off my feet, I was well past the point of caring. 

This was fine. It wasn't bad. It doesn't deserve a low rating, because it wasn't bad. It was just unremarkable. I'm probably being generous with three stars, but I didn't passionately hate it or passionately enjoy it. I'll stand steadily in the middle.

Also, the description for the second book implies there will be a love triangle – UGH!

Anyways, here's the Goodreads synopsis...

The frost king will burn.

Seventeen-year-old Ruby is a Fireblood who has concealed her powers of heat and flame from the cruel Frostblood ruling class her entire life. But when her mother is killed trying to protect her, and rebel Frostbloods demand her help to overthrow their bloodthirsty king, she agrees to come out of hiding, desperate to have her revenge.

Despite her unpredictable abilities, Ruby trains with the rebels and the infuriating—yet irresistible—Arcus, who seems to think of her as nothing more than a weapon. But before they can take action, Ruby is captured and forced to compete in the king’s tournaments that pit Fireblood prisoners against Frostblood champions. Now she has only one chance to destroy the maniacal ruler who has taken everything from her—and from the icy young man she has come to love.

1. The synopsis makes it sound like way more happens across the span of the entire book than it really does.

The book is slow. So, so, so freaking slow. Well, for most of it, anyway. I'd say 75% of the book's most interesting moments happen in the last 50 pages or so. And THEN it speeds up through all of the most important plot points so you're left wondering, "Wait, what just happened?"

2. I didn't even feel remotely excited when it became obvious that Ruby and Arcus were **in love.**

It wasn't thrilling. They might be two of the most boring characters in a fantasy novel ever. There is nothing remotely interesting about either of them. The *big reveal* about Arcus' identity just made me roll my eyes, and Ruby was incredibly bland. 

3. The Frostblood and Fireblood powers make no sense to me.

At least in Red Queen, the powers sound incredible – and they're all different. I wasn't amazed by Ruby's *incredible* powers, and I also didn't really know what to picture when she was using her powers. 

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I am way behind on reviewing books, so... a quick catchup.

I've been trying to keep up with my reviews, especially if I read anything that has been released in the last month or so, but... that definitely fell flat. I also haven't finished my February recap (I am a hot mess, obviously) and had to renew at least five books that I checked out from the library because I've been way too busy to read as much as I wanted to the past two weeks.

I'll post more about what March has in store for me sometime this week, but I wanted to catch up on my recent reads before I let another month get away from me.

My rating: ★★★
Read: Feb. 13 – Feb. 18

There was a lot of hype around Modern Lovers, and I liked The Vacationers when I listened to it in audiobook form over the summer. I dunno – it wasn't bad, but it didn't live up to the hype and I found most of the characters way too easy to hate.  

My rating: ★★★
Read: Feb. 19 (one-day read)

I really liked Reign of Shadows (even though it was a little cheesy) but Rise of Fire was a HOT MESS. I blew through this in one day and honestly don't even know if it deserved three stars. The ending was WAY too ridiculous for me.

My rating: ★★★★
Read: Feb. 16 to Feb. 21

I've had this on my to-read list for a while, and I'm glad I decided to check it out as an audiobook instead of reading it in print. Jen Sincero has a great audiobook voice and was so entertaining. I downgraded it to four stars because some of her advice is a little eyeroll-worthy, but I also took a lot from the finances chapter and am trying to do better about positive affirmations. 

My rating: ★★★
Read: Feb. 20 to Feb. 23

Wasn't this the book everyone was talking about when it came out? I was less than thrilled. I didn't hate it but it was very slow moving – not to mention, I do NOT like Kaz, and not in the he's-lovably-awful kind of way. If the romance between Kaz and Inez turns into anything at all, and I'm sure it will, I'm throwing the sequel out the window.

My rating: ★★★★
Read: Feb. 24 (one-day read)

This was a short documentary novel that was perfect for a long day of driving last week. I loved this style of storytelling and felt like I was listening to a movie instead of hearing a book read aloud – it was meant to be an audiobook. Downgraded to four stars because it felt a little rushed in places and incredibly slow in others.

My rating: ★★★
Read: March 2 to March 

This was fine. Wasn't this another book everyone was crazy about last year? Again, it was fine. Simon and his friends are funny and quirky, and I truly felt so much for Simon when Martin was blackmailing him and ultimately screwed him over. It just didn't stick out as a memorable story for me. Also, I'm reading the title right now and wondering, why in the world is that the title? I must've missed something.

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review: the female of the species

Date started: February 3

Date finished: February 12

Book 12/52 in 2017.

★★★★

I didn't really know what I was getting into when I checked out "The Female of the Species," so I had no idea what kind of wacky plot was waiting for me when I cracked this one open. I'd been reading "Modern Romance" by Aziz Ansari but I really needed a fiction break. If I'd known more about the plot, I probably would've hesitated to turn to this one. This book was not a break, exactly, because it is brutal, dark and bleak in so many places. 

But I would recommend it to so many people – with a warning that it does contain very real depictions of sexual assault and violence against women.

1. Peekay and Alex's friendship. This is a really sudden friendship that pops up, but I bought into it and believed that it was real because both girls were reaching out. Both girls needed someone, and they found someone, and it was a real friendship. There were moments where the friendship felt cliche – especially how Alex interacted with Peekay's other friends and how they welcomed her into their group so reluctantly – but it was outshone by Alex's genuine concern for Peekay's wellbeing and Peekay working so hard to pull Alex out into the world. 

2. The characters in general are complex, deep and beautifully developed. These are real, screwed-up, sometimes awful people. To me, the women – Alex, Peekay, Branley – feel far more like real people than the men in this novel – Jack and Park, for example, fall back hard on stereotypes of typical high school boys – and I am here for it. The story is about them anyway, even if Jack is one of the leading characters as well.

3. Every glimpse inside Alex's mind is perfectly written. Alex knows there is something wrong with her, and she is always waiting for it to emerge and make itself known to others. Her mind is an amazing web of violence, revenge and concern for others, and she is an increasingly complex character, shaped by the trauma she's experienced, at such a young age. I hate that she gets pulled into what feels like a very youthful, high school love affair with Jack – it just doesn't fit her, while her friendship with Peekay, another lost soul, does. But I loved every minute spent exploring Alex's world.

1. I am not a fan of Jack. I didn't groan and roll my eyes every time he spoke like I did with Rider in "The Problem with Forever" but lately, I have been incredibly unimpressed with the male love interests being served up in young adult books. Jack's infatuation with Alex doesn't feel real, ever, and I have a hard time believing that he looks at her one time and then can't stop thinking about her. Everything there felt incredibly rushed.

2. I lacked resolution on plot lines that took pages to flesh out. For example, Officer Nolan? Was that entire chapter only in place so that teenage boys could say truly horrible things about Branley? There was a lot of time spent on his talk to the students, so I expected him to be more influential throughout. I'm happy to say he wasn't, but I didn't need to hear so much from him. And the animal shelter nonsense? When something like that brings two characters together like it did Alex and Peekay, I expect more from it throughout the book – not for it to be dropped off the minute it's no longer a convenient plot device.

3. DO PEOPLE ACTUALLY CALL PREACHERS' KIDS PK? Why in the WORLD would that be a legitimate nickname for someone, and WHY WHY WHY would Peekay let everyone get away with it for her whole life? I really, genuinely hated it. Claire is such a nice name. 

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review: the problem with forever

Date started: November? I don't even remember

Date finished: February 8

Book 13/52 in 2017 (WAIT WHAT? No way!)

★★

Usually when I listen to an audiobook and I hate it this much, I blame it on the narrator, stop listening an hour or so in and switch to the printed book. (Example: Dorothy Must Die. I didn't care for the first book in any medium, but I loved the series way more after I got away from the narrator.) This time, I cannot blame Amy Landon for what was simply an awful, terrible, boring, monotonous, not-that-interesting book.

I read through a lot of reviews on Goodreads before I sat down to write mine – I like to know if I'm just being melodramatic or if my complaints are well-grounded in reality – and many people who gave this book a low rating agree on one thing: Jennifer L. Armentrout's heart was in the right place. The struggles that Mallory faces after being abused and neglected as a child are important. Her fight to overcome her PTSD is important.

But, unfortunately, that is all there is to Mallory. That, and Rider. Mallory without Rider and without any obstacles forcing her out of her comfort zone = a cardboard cutout of a person. Her surroundings force her to become a slightly more interesting person, but she really can't and doesn't hold her own.

Rider is fine. He's a perfectly fine male lead and romantic interest – but I'll get to my problems with that in a minute. But his dialogue with Mallory made me yell, audibly, loudly, aggressively, at my car audio system.

 1. Jayden. Jaden?

However you spell it. He was delightful. Until... Well.

OK, I'm out. 

Seriously. I hated this.

1. This was a long freaking book. 

14 hours of audio? 400+ pages? It could've been chopped in half and been way more reasonable. I mean, nothing happened in the audiobook version until the 11-hour mark, and by then, I was so agitated with everything else, I hardly cared.

2. How does anyone who likes this book overlook the obviously toxic relationship between Rider and Mallory? 

Mallory and Rider were foster children who grew up in the same abusive home. Rider took beatings for Mallory and protected her, took care of her. When she turns up in his life four years later, he picks up right where that left off – and even though Mallory goes through a "transformation" and suddenly doesn't need him to take care of her anymore, that never actually happens. Their entire relationship is built off of Rider's unhealthy need to protect her and other people and Mallory's dependence on him.

3.  HOW MANY TIMES CAN YOU SAY THE WORD GAZE IN ONE PARAGRAPH? IN ONE SENTENCE? 

Enough said. I counted 12 uses of the word gaze just in my 20-minute commute home. Are you kidding me?

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review: the star-touched queen

Date started: January 21

Date finished: January 21

Book 5/52 in 2017.

My rating: ★★★

This book was at the top of my must-read list last year, and it's recommended to anyone who loved The Wrath & The Dawn and The Rose & The Dagger, not to mention Cruel Beauty, which is me, me, me, ME. I love retellings and I love young adult fantasy and I love beautiful covers and I love beautiful storytelling, so what could possibly go wrong with The Star-Touched Queen, right? 

Here's the summary from Goodreads – 

"Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of death and destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father’s kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran’s queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar’s wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire…"

Meh.

The Star-Touched Queen was a beautifully told story, but I needed more than that. The author expected me to trust them fully and go along with everything without really knowing what any of it meant. 

1. The actual story was fascinating, and I would've loved more of it.

This one was far too quick for me. One moment, Maya is standing before her father as she prepares to choose her husband – knowing there is no choice in the matter – and within a page, she's married Amar and is climbing onto his water buffalo to ride off into the wherever. 

But the entire story, despite its flaws, was beautifully told and enticing, which is what kept me going and what made it a 3-star read instead of much, much lower. It's hypnotic and a little intoxicating, but unfortunately abrupt at the same time. 

2. I was so invested in the world building, both in Akaran and in the real world. 

The author built a really beautiful stage for her story to perform on. From the fighting and the war in Maya's human home and the creatures in her less-than-human home – I loved it all. Everything moved far too fast, though – I wanted to savor the world that Chokshi built for Maya and Amar, but I didn't have enough time.

3. Maya was a wonderful character to lead me through the mess.

I loved Maya, even though she had to be stupid and screw everything up – but if our characters were never stupid, we'd never really get anywhere, would we? She is curious, clever and very real, and it's not hard to see why Amar would fall in love with her. Though her emotions develop and change quickly, everything she thinks and feels feels very real. 

1. The beginning, plot-wise, felt a lot of promise, but it dropped off quickly from there.

After Amar scooped Maya up and brought her back to Akaran, the prose stays beautiful but the plot gets ... wonky. And confusing. And ??? I couldn't tell you the name of the villain or Amar's sidekick, because they weren't memorable despite their important impact on the plot. I couldn't tell you how Maya got to where she was in the second half of the book. I essentially forgot it all after it happened because it wasn't interesting, it was just quickly moving me along to get to the end.

2. The freaking horse. What the heck?

I mean, sure, the horse was a funny character, but does Maya have no better options for a sidekick in the world than a demon horse? And not even a good demon horse, because I don't believe this horse has any interest in taking a bite out of Maya's arm, no matter how many times she requests it. The horse was a means to an end, a necessary device to move Maya from where she ended up to where she needed to be, but it could've been a person, a parrot, an elephant – there was absolutely no significance in it being a horse, and she was annoying.

3. The instalove. Come. On.

While the instalove makes sense once you realize what is happening under the surface, you DON'T realize it while just reading along – and that makes it terribly annoying. Sure, we realize long, long, long after they're married while Maya is feeling so many things for Amar so quickly, but while it's happening... it just feels like instalove, in its worst form.

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