My 2017 Reading Challenge

Hey everyone, Laura here.

So, most of you might not know this but I need to get surgery on the ligaments in my right ankle either in January or super early February.  ::Cries hysterically off to side.  Sniffling and wiping face::

However, the good news about this is MY READING CHALLENGE!!!

Okay, so not only is the surgery happening, but I also graduated this semester and have absolutely nothing to do until this whole nonsense is over with and I can look for a job without hobbling everywhere.

So I have nothing to do.

At all.

I'm not sure if that's a blessing or a curse, but I DO know that I will be taking advantage of it.

Now that that's over with, let me talk to you about my reading challenge.

My goal, which is not only huge and (sort of) realistic, but is also the largest goal I've ever set for myself is this: I will read 200 books in the year of 2017.

I know.  Crazy huh?

And of COURSE I'll review all of them.  Even if you don't want me to.  Because I want to.  And your opinion goes unheard of and unanswered because you don't even talk to me.  You could always suggest a book for me to read and review next but, again, no comments, no changes.

Yeah.

That's all on you, buddy.

But so far my challenge is this: fairy tale/classic literature/mythology retellings are going to be my main focus from January until April.  Which means I'll probably be both sick of them and super critical by the end of it.  And it'll be absolutely wonderful!  (I've already decided my first book but you'll have to wait until the review to know!)

Of course, with the retellings ending in April, May is going to be MONSTER GIRLS.  Yup that's right!  Any female in a book that is either a monster that can change shape, a creepy vampire, even an evil spirit is going to be looked at during this month.

Monster girls will be awesome, but June is my birthday month.  So naturally this month's theme is Werewolves (and shape shifters, but not like the monsterous girls from last month).  I'm super psyched for werewolves, if I may say so.

But even more so is my July theme which is Djinn and Dragons.  Now, unfortunately there aren't too many books about these two categories (that I own and can think of off the top of my head) and so the other half of this month involves me going back and reading any books I missed from the month's lists before this.  So that's super exciting.

August is officially the month for Sci-Fi.  AMAZINGGGGGGGG.  I can't wait for some of these reads (including a re-read of my favorite sci-fi YA series which will only be revealed when I review it!).

Now, September is super close to Halloween, and so the theme will be ghosts and witches.  Which is totally insane.  And considering that the (wonderful and amazing) boyfried picked me up a copy of "How to Hang a Witch" by Adriana Mather for Christmas, I'll actually get the chance to read it then!

October is one of my favorite months because of Halloween, my second favorite holiday.  So the theme is, of course, the Paranormal.  This is going to be super fun and cliche, which makes it even better.
**If anyone has awesome creeptastic YA or NA novels to suggest then please do so!**

November is the last month with an official list and theme, which is series.  Any series that I may have started but never finished will get re-read and read throughout the month.  So I have several series that I haven't finished yet.  WHATEVER SHALL I DO?
I will read the entire series.
In one month.
So there will be multiple series that I will get the chance to finally finish.

Huzzah!

December, much like the second half of July, is going to be a chance for me to catch up on books that I haven't gotten the chance to read yet over the last few months, including books that are coming out in 2017 (which, trust me, I've got my list of those!).

Either way, this is going to be a super fun year of reading.  I can't wait to get through these books and share with you my thoughts.

I hope everyone had an amazing time during the holidays and got a chance to spend time with their loved ones.

Now it's back to business and stopping slacking off.  On my part.

You don't have to.

Or you may.

I don't know, maybe I motivate you to sit your butt down and read.  Or maybe you hate me and I motivate you to stop spending time on your computer.  Either way, I look forward to my reading challenge and I hope to hear if some of you decide to do it with me!

My first book for January is....

::insert drum roll and party poppers and confetti::

"Stung" by Bethany Wiggins!

::Crazy screaming from around the world as I hold up the book like Simba::

Well, I hope everyone has a Happy New Year!

I will see you guys in the next day or so!!

Ta-ta for now!

It's our top 10 books of 2016!

Heyy guys!!! Today we have something a little different... we have our TOP TEN BOOKS OF 2016!!!

So yes, it's not just me today, but... Kasey of the K&L Book Club will join us for this!!

Okay.

Now the fun can begin!

And yes, these are in a particular order... so.  Our top ten starts with a tie for both of us...


1/1• A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas 

Kasey:  I rarely give books a full five star rating, but ACOMAF definitely deserved it. I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH! It made me laugh and cry. It made me mad, frustrated, and happy. EMOTIONS, OKAY! I just felt so many emotions with this book.

When I started reading it, I thought I knew what I was getting into. And I was so wrong! I was so blind with the first book. Since the ACOTAR was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast with a mix of the Scottish fairies folktales, SJM mentioned that ACOMAF book was somewhat of a Persephone and Hades retelling. I love a great retelling. And it worked so well. SJM’s fantasy worlds are just perfect and I want to live in them. Exploring new parts of Prythian was great. The Night Court! I want to live there! The clothes. The magic. The fae. Every detail of everything imaginable that SJM put into this book was excellent. I fell in love with all of the new characters, especially Cassian (my fae bae bastard!). Seeing Rhys reveal who he truly was, to see that he wasn’t what we thought he was, to see him open up to Feyre… Ugh! He’s a perfect little cinnamon roll and needs to be protected.

There is so much I have to say about this book that I can’t properly convey what I want to say because of my immense love for it. Sometimes stories of faeries can become cliché and corny, but with SJM’s writing it is anything but that. I started reading and devouring all her books this year, and I was completely hooked. Her writing has a way of just easily pulling you into the story. This book has become so popular and loved. I’m surprised that there would be anyone who hasn’t read it. Not only is this book a must read, but all of SJM’s books are.

Laura:  Okay, so let me just say that THIS IS A MUST READDDDDD.

Yes.

Read it.

The story takes you on this roller coaster that just leaves you depleted by the end, much like her other books, but this one?  Oh no.  This one just blew my mind by far, only because of how complex it was.  The characters were fabulous, completely flawed, but I NEED TO HOLD THEM.

Except Tamlin.

The tool.

No one likes him.

NO ONE.

But on a serious note: the world in this is just absolutely stunning and completely original.  She weaves this tapestry that just ends up being wonderful and snags you by the first page.  I loved this book and it deserved all 5 stars that I have given it.

2• Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas

Laura: I know, I just finished it yesterday, but it NEEDED to be on this list because of how crazpy epic it was!!!  As the fifth and second to last book in the series, I feel like it did every character justice as they try and race the coming war.  When you have these amazing characters in this amazing world, it becomes hard to put down that book, and this was no different.  I was hooked, my heart and emotions were tormented until the last word, and, honestly, I couldn't get enough.  I waited so long to read this, and it was worth the wait.

So yes, I still stick with my rating of 5 stars, and this is a short post because, as I said above, my (quick but longer) review is up already.

2/3• And I Darken by Kiersten White

Kasey:  Gender-swapped Vlad the Impaler! I bought this book, because it was a signed copy and I just couldn’t leave on the shelf. I didn’t expect to love it so much. And I didn’t know that I needed this book in my life. I love the main character, Lada (who would obviously be Vlad). I love her determination of proving that’s she can do what any man can do, and do it better. She has been added to my list of favorite female characters. This book started off slow. It started with Lada’s birth and childhood, which I didn’t really like. But it was needed. And then the rest of the book is the start of her teenage years. It’s basically how Vlad became the impaler. The religion and history in this book! You could just tell that the author did the research to make sure it was accurate as possible. At first glance, I thought this book was fantasy. I was wrong. It’s even better. The genre of And I Darken is a perfect mix of YA, Historical Fiction, and LBGTQ. I can’t stress how great this book is. I gave this book four-star rating.

Laura:  Okay, so although this is actually third on my list, I'll keep this here.  Know why?  BECAUSE IT WAS WONDERFUL.  Like, imagine an origin story for a female Dracula.  But not the vampire.  Like the original: Vlad the Impaler.  That's right.  Sounds awesome right?

Well it was.  And when you dive into this world it was like being taken on an epic ride.  There were things I didn't like, like the fact that I felt like it was a bit slow, and the fact that certain characters REALLY pissed me off, so unfortunately I could only give this book a 4 star rating, but it was worth it to read.

3• Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

Kasey:  I am a huge fan of Cassandra Clare’s books. I waited what felt like forever to read Lady Midnight. When I finally read it, I thought I had the ending figured out. Oh boy. I was wrong again about this one too. It’s definitely lengthy, but that ending. Ugh! This book was definitely not disappointing. It was everything I thought it’s be, which is AMAZING! One thing I loved about this book was the titles of each chapter. THEY WERE LINES FROM EDGAR ALLEN POE’S ANNABEL LEE! And it worked into the story perfectly. If you’re a fan of the Shadowhunters Novels, than I don’t have to go into what the world is like, and Cassie’s writing. And with the movie and TV show, well yeah. But let’s address Emma and Julian for second. I shipped them. Shipped. I was all like “they’re in love! Let them love each other! So what if they’re parabatai!” Oh boy! When I found out the reason why, I stopped shipping. Even if they find a way, I don’t want them together. Let me just say, I have a theory regarding Emma’s sword! I will not say what it is because I don’t like to be wrong (but I think I’m right. Haha!). Lady Midnight is worth the read, but you can’t read it without reading all of Cassandra’s other books. Because spoilers. Four stars for this book. I can’t wait for the sequel.

4• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Kasey:  Oh god! Where do I start with this amazing, fantastic, beautiful, and magnificent book? Four stars! The characters are everything! The story is great. The best thing about the book, besides the characters, is the humor. The comic relief is perfect considering that the characters are in a high-risk mission that might cost them their lives. If you follow our YouTube channel, and have seen the review for Six of Crows, then you know that Nina Zenik and Kaz Brekker are my favorites. A goddess and a demon. Nina is a beautiful, perfect, and witty creature, and Kaz is my deadly and intelligent baby. And they both should rule the world. The world is interesting. I did not read Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha Trilogy, so I wasn’t familiar with the world. If you’re like me and are going into this book blind, don’t worry. It’s not that hard to figure out. Bardugo does a good job with giving enough info about the previous books in Six of Crows. This book made me laugh and cry. It is a must read!

4• Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Laura:  Imagine a fantasy world, crippled like the one from the Hunger Games, but instead of teenagers pitted against one another there is a war.  With the poor being led by a group called Silvers - the elites of society.  Who are basically cooler X-Men.

"But Laura, there's no such thing..."

Yes.  Yes there is.  And it's all wrapped up in a beautiful book that is just this masterpiece.  With strong characters who have PLENTY of faults, this book takes you on a ride that you won't want to get off of.  Trust me.  I read both books back to back and have been waiting FOREVER for 2017 to get my hands on book 3.  But.

But.

There are still some flaws, however, I don't think that they were so bad that I couldn't keep reading.  I gave this book a 4.5 Star rating, and only because I wish the world was expanded in this book.  Luckily the sequel did its job in explaining the gaps and made up for it.  But it is definitely an awesome read.

5• Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Kasey:  I think by this point it is no secret that I love SJM’s books. I gave HoF four out of five stars. It has become my favorite Throne of Glass book, because of the introduction of so many new characters, a change in settings, the character growth, and because it made me cry my eyes out. ROWAN! Ugh! He was such an asshole, but he was such a likeable asshole. The connection that builds between him and Aelin was frustrating, amusing, and beautiful. He easily became a new favorite character of mine. I ended up loving everything about him. I choked up a lot while reading this book, but Chapters 33 and 34 are the reason for the enormous amount of tears and why this book is in my top five reads for 2016. That’s all I have to say. If you’ve read the book, you’ll understand. If you haven’t, then go pick up all the Throne of Glass books. NOW! You won’t regret reading this amazing fantasy series.

5• This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

Laura:  This was definitely a super fun read.  It was like reading Sin City if it was meshed with demons.  Which I see as weird vampires.  Not the I'll-drink-your-blood kind but the I'll-steal-your-soul kind.  And it made for such an amazing book.

However, like the majority of books, it has its flaws.  The characters were fine, but I wanted to know more.  More about the world, more about what these things are, how they came to be.  I'm pretty sure it says it in the book vaguely, but that's just it: it was vague and briefly mentioned and I can't even remember it.  So it does get 4 Stars.  But I'm praying that the sequel is just as good if not better, because this was such a fun and different read for me.



Well, that's our top ten (five each) books of 2016!!

Some honorable mentions are, of course:
- "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
- "Revenge and the Wild" by Michelle Modesto
- "The Young Elites" by Marie Lu
- "Madly" by Amy Alward.

We look forward to our top ten of 2017, but until then: HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

"Empire of Storms" by Sarah J Maas

Okay, so I may have fibbed a bit at the end of my last post.  I apologize and swear that the next time I veer off course and read/review another I will prominently tell all of you first.

Now that that's out of the way, I did start "Scythe" and I enjoyed what I've read of it so far.  Not enough to give you the whole rundown, but enough to tell you all that I will get to it.  Soon.  Just not the next book.  Or the one after that.  But soon.

Scout's honor.

However, I finally got the chance to read "Empire of Storms" which is the fifth book in the "Throne of Glass" series.

For everyone who hasn't read them yet let me just say this: you are missing out on one of the greatest pieces of fantasy literature of our time.  GO AND READ IT.

Like I know I say that about a bunch of books, but this one is not one that you can just dismiss.  It needs to be read.  And I'll summarize why: the character grows, she makes mistakes, she falls into and out of love throughout the series, and she is very, very human.  It needs to be read by all.

Whew.

That's done.

I feel like a messenger.

However, I cannot divulge into the book without some serious spoilers, and so instead I will make this a very, extremely quick review in which absolutely NO SPOILERS will be revealed.

That's right.

Because it is that worth it.

Story: Sarah J Maas has yet to disappoint me with an intriguing, mystery puzzle box of a story that just keeps unfolding until the very last word.  I have never been more impressed by writing, especially with the plot being as layered as it is.  I loved it.  Every.  Single.  Second.  And then I cried for chapters and scenes throughout the entire book.

Which I read in about two days.

I couldn't put it down.  Literally.

Characters: Her characters are certainly fleshed out, flawed and utterly human, with distinct traits that she never forgets to add to make sure each and every one of them have their own flair.  I didn't even mind the switching of perspectives because they all felt so utterly unique.

World: Perfection incarnate.  I was easily able to follow the course of this story, and I never felt lost.  Except when they did in one of the scenes.  Which I totally understand.

I love this world so much I'd die to live in it.  With the exception of certain characters.  Let's just say that.

(For all who know, yes, I mean that horrible nasty vile creature of a... oh.  Hang on.  Need to find my center.)

Originality: Her stories captivated me because  of their originality.  I love how she weaves this tapestry on a story into a masterpiece that has no equal in our time.

(I will gladly take on the Game of Thrones fans who are seething right now.  Come at me.  And we can discuss this like civilized people.  Sort of.)

Everything is wonderful.  Everything is (eventually) explained.  Everything.

And it was all her.

All of it.

She's perfection.

And honestly I might die after reading the next and final book.  Just saying.

Writing: Again, it was beautiful.  Absolutely wonderfully written from beginning to finish.  I was hooked from the first line until the tear-stained final pages.  I literally devoured this book.

All in all this book DESERVES its 5 Stars that I am giving it.  It is unworthy of anything less than that.

For a book to grab my heart and force me to scream on behalf of a character... let's just say that it rarely happens.

I loved it.

100000000000000000%

Now, onto the next order of business.

The next book I am reading is actually going to be "Isle" by Jes Dory.  I will keep you all posted.



PS - I would like to take a moment to say that this week has been rough.  I couldn't read for several days after I had heard the news, and am lucky enough to have received her book.  Which I will read as soon as I receive my second copy - I refuse to open the one I have because I was given it minutes before it had happened (not by her, obviously).

May the force be with Carrie Fisher, her mother who has also passed on, and her family as they make it through these hard times.  Rest in peace, you two beautiful women.  And know that the world will forever be dimmed without your light.

"The Young Elites" by Marie Lu

"I didn't mean it," I whispered, unsure whom I was talking to.  My gaze darted up to the windows, terrified that people would be watching from every building, but no one was there.  The storm drowned me out.  I dragged myself away from my father's body.  This is all wrong.

But that was a lie.  I knew it, even then.  Do you see how I take after my father?  I had enjoyed every moment.

OH.  MY.  GOD.

Is there any way for me to talk about this book without sounding a bit biased?  OF COURSE THERE IS!!! Although to be honest I was expecting this to be TOTALLY AWESOME after reading her other series starting with "Legend."

So yeah.

You see how dark it is?  You see how twisted and warped the M.C. is?  Because I'm pretty sure Adelina is my long lost evil twin.

Oh yeah, we're talking about super dark.

Okay, so before I go all spoilery on you, let me just say this:

IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THIS BOOK YET, WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!

Although yes, I only gave it 4 stars, it's still worth every second.  I just feel like it was missing something.  And from what I hear, the sequel is even BETTER than the first.

We have Adelina Amouteru, a sixteen year-old girl who survived the blood plague and came out marked.  She's a malfetto, one considered tainted by demons because she is a survivor.  She is just so badass that I can't really figure out a way to sell her withou saying a spoiler... oh, wait, I got it!  She's the dark Katniss, but like wayyyy darker.   And with magic.  

So go.  Read.  And then rejoin me for a spoiler filled review.  It'll be totally awesome.  The read.  And maybe the review.  You know what, everything is awesome. 

 

OK.  SPOILER ALERT!!!

If you don't like them, then WHY ARE YOU SCROLLING DOWN STILL!!

___________________________________________________________________________

OKAY!

WHERE SHOULD I START OH MY GOD THIS WAS TOTALLY AMAZING IN NEARLY EVERY WAY AND MAYBE I SHOULD GIVE IT THE FULL FIVE STARS BUT I CAN'T AND IT'S LITERALLY KILLLLLLLING ME!!!!

Whew!  That's over with.

Okay, so I guess we should start with story.

Story: Amazing.  Hah! LOL.  That's all folks!  Oh God, I couldn't do that.  Ok, so the story follows a sixteen year old Adelina Amouteru, and her markings consist of her shimmering silver hair that changes colors in the light, and a missing left eye that was removed by heated tongs.  ouch.  She runs away from home, accidentally murdering her father, and it leads to her arrest and subsequently her execution.  By burning at the stake.  By Inquisitors.  Damn.  But she's saved by the Young Elites, a group of kids with abilities formed into the Dagger Society.  

And the best part?  She's got powers too.  She aligns with fear and fury, and her gift for illusion is affected by how afraid she is at first, but then she can begin to feed off of other's emotions to fuel her hate and her powers.  It's quite awesome and terrifying all at the same time.

This book kept me 100% interested, 100% wanting more.  I enjoyed reading the multiple perspectives (a few characters get a chapter here and there but it's mostly first person perspective from Adelina).  This was worth the read, and so I give this section it's full star.

*** I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT THE NEW SCORING IS IN EFFECT!!! Each section gets a star.  A full star if it was perfect, half if it wasn't, and none if it doesn't deserve it.  That was it adds up to five stars!! ***

Characters:

We have Adelina who is amazing.  She is delightfully dark and spirals slowly into becoming a villain by the end of this book (and from what I have heard she goes full out villain next book.  HUZZAH!)  

Something inside me screams that this is going too far - I can feel the darkness taking over my senses.  My father - Dante - gasps.  His scream cuts off as his face freezes into a trembling picture of shock.  Harder.  I try in vain to shove it away, to regain control.  I can't.  A real trickle of blood runs from his lips.  My heart trembles at the sight.  This isn't supposed to happen.  I am a conjurer of illusions.  Can even the illusion of pain eventualy trigger something real?  Again, I reach out to stop myself.  But my father's ghost only laughs, mingling with the gleeful whispers in my head.

Whew.  Did you read that?  That's some dark stuff.  I can't even think of any other way for me to love her any more than I already do.  By the end of the novel things don't bode too well for her, and that's ok.  It's her darkness that makes her more insanely awesome than anything.

Then there's Enzo.  The prince.  The Reaper.  He's pretty bad ass, if I do say so myself.  He's awesome and brooding and severe.  And he dies.  Like WHAT?!  Hang on a sec, the coolest guy in the book DIES?!  Then again, they did foreshadow the idea that another Elite, somewhere in the world, can bring back the dead.  Does this mean we have hope?  WE BETTER HAVE HOPE OR I'LL RIOT.

And finally, because let's face I won't do every character, just the three major players, there's Teren.  The little sh!t.  I hate him.  And yet I love him.  If you've read "Shatter Me," like the whole series, then you'd know that when I say he reminds me of Warner (NOT AARON) then you'll understand why I want to smack that little guy out of here... and I'm hoping he gets better.  Not like that @ss Maven from "Glass Sword" who gets SO MUCH WORSE as the books continue.

"If you pledge yourself to the Inquisition, to me, and swear to use your powers and your knowledge to send malfettos back to the Underworld, I will give you everything you've ever wanted.  I can grant you your every desire.  Money?  Power?  Respect?  Done."  He smiles.  "You can redeem yourself, change from an abomination in the gods' eyes to a savior.  You can help me fix this world.  Wouldn't it be nice, not having to run anymore?"  He pauses, and for a moment, a note of real, painful tragedy enters his voice.  "We are not supposed to exist, Adelina.  We were never meant to be."

He is so tragic that I want to hug him.  Even though he is the lead Inquisitor.  Even though afterwards I'll just punch him in the face and kick him off of a roof.  And then kick him some more.

Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how old the characters were.  I felt like their ages kept shifting around, and so it was hard to follow.  Like at one point I was sure Enzo was nineteen, but then it says that he is a year younger then Teren.  And Teren is fifteen.  Which makes Enzo fourteen.  And he's getting it on with sixteen-year-old Adelina?  It was confusing and I wasn't a fan of the fact that I couldn't figure it out without having to go back and carefully reread the beginning chapters.  So unfortunately characters only gets half a star.

World:

Holy cannoli, there's flying sting rays!!!  The world was awesome and interesting, but I NEEDED MORE.

There just wasn't enough of the world building for me to completely love it, so I have to take out half a star for that.  However, there was enough for me to follow along throughout this book.

I'm hoping for more of it in the second book.

Writing and Originality:

EXCELLENT

Her descriptions blew me away, especially when she talks about the energy and the illusions.  The threads and the ribbons.  It was so beautiful and original in the sense that this realm where magic exists because of a plague is believable considering that there are FLYING STING RAYS.  Like, again, that was TOTALLY AMAZING.

So to be honest, the language was so beautiful that I was moved every time something good happened because of the way it was written.  I didn't cry while reading this book for a change.  But that's because I wasn't looking for another really happy/sad type of book.  This was pure darkness.  Although some of the characters did in fact win over my heart, they were still slightly evil if not slightly jerkish.

They all were evil and yet not.  It's definitely not a world of black and white.  There's so much gray that I can't even decide who's the bad guy.  (Clearly it's the Inquisition, but then again there's so many layers to the characters that you can't just label them hero and villain.)

So these categories get their full stars.

Which brings me to the end.  WAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

I won't cry.

I won't cry.

I'M IN TEARS AND MY HEART IS SLIGHTLY SHATTERED AND I WANT AND NEED ADELINA TO DESTROY EVERYTHING SHE COMES NEAR.

YES.  EMBRACE THE DARKNESS MY DEAR.

This book definitely was one of my favorites, I just wish there was a little more.  Just that little bit that would raise this to a complete 5, but instead we have a 4 star book.  I can't wait to read the next one.  

My next read will be "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman.  I look forward until then.

"The King Slayer" by Virginia Boecker

“I think, in time, you’ll either be my greatest mistake or my greatest victory.”

Former witch hunter Elizabeth Grey is hiding within the magically protected village of Harrow, evading the price put on her head by Lord Blackwell, the usurper king of Anglia. Their last encounter left Blackwell ruined, but his thirst for power grows stronger every day. He’s readying for a war against those who would resist his rule—namely Elizabeth and the witches and wizards she now calls her allies.

Having lost her stigma, a magical source of protection and healing, Elizabeth’s strength is tested both physically and emotionally. War always means sacrifice, and as the lines between good and evil blur once more, Elizabeth must decide just how far she’ll go to save those she loves.

This is the sequel to "The Witch Hunter," so if you haven't read that one, I suggest not reading this review.  SPOILERS WILL BE ABOUND!!  Like seriously.  Go and read the first book.  

In fact, I had the pleasure of meeting this lovely woman FOUR DAYS BEFORE THE RELEASE OF THE FIRST BOOK at the wonderful Books of Wonder (18 West 18th Street in NYC for those who want to know... like go and support them.  They are absolutely fabulous) and you know what she did?  She released it FOUR DAYS EARLY TO SIGN IT FOR US.  It was magical.

And I devoured the first book.  The second book...?

Well.

Although I did devour it, I feel like it wasn't as good as the first.

I feel that way about a lot of things actually.

But this is a bit different.  Because it had nothing to do with story line and EVERYTHING to do with character.

(Honestly this will be a short review, considering that it is a sequel and everything I had to say about this series is in my review of the first book, which I'm sure is up on Goodreads somewhere.  Actually it is not.  I guess I didn't have much to say about it.)

This book is a low 4 Stars.

There.

That's all you get.

The reason why?

There's not much I can say without spoiling ANYTHING.

So read the blurb above and know my rating and then, after reading it and thinking about it yourself, you can come back and read the rest of this review.

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Okay.  The reason this review is short is because, like I stated above, there isn't much for me to gripe about except for character development.

Yup.

That's about it.

So what was it about the characters that I didn't like?

1 - Elizabeth was just SO WHINY.  That's right, I said it.  The strong witch hunter of the first book just goes bleh.  Like one minute she's beating people up, she loses her stigma and then BAM.  All of her badass qualities go along with it.  Even the final battle at the end is kind of flat because I had expected her to act that way since the beginning.  Like come on already!

Ugh.

2 - John REALLY pissed me off.  Like SUPER pissed me off.  Like jump-off-a-bridge-and-kill-yourself pissed me off.  (Don't do that though, because we need you.)  I was so annoyed with him by the end that even HE didn't redeem himself.

3 - Fifer and Schulyer were so much more assertive in the first book and they kind of fell flat in this one.  They ended up being wall characters, where they are there but not important.  Schulyer had ONE MAJOR SCENE.  THAT WAS IT.  Like WTH?!  And Fifer I felt like wasn't important at all!

That's my only problem, honestly.

I enjoyed the plot, because, well, Blackwell NEEDED to just go away already.  I hated that dude.  And I guess I felt bad for Malcolm.  A little.

The writing was gorgeous like it was in the first book, with a world that was definitely unique.  Although I still don't understand how magic works in this book and who's got it, it's okay because I accepted it.  It worked for the people who actually had it.

I also thought that the way it progressed made sense, although I REALLY  wanted to slap Elizabeth across the face to wake her up from her pining and self-pity.

Throughout the entire book.

But whatever.

I enjoyed this ending to this series, a duology.  I want another book, just to see what happens next, but it's okay.  I enjoyed where it ended.

BUT WHAT HAPPENED TO CHIME???  That little witch.  Maybe she fell into the river and went away.  Hopefully.

Anyway, that's about it.

Told you it would be short.

I just can't think of anything else to say.

Like I said, a low four stars for this book.  I can't exactly rate it like I would other books properly, because if this was a stand-alone it would've gotten three and a half stars, but since the first book was worth the five stars I gave it, I have to bring this down a star.

My next read is "The Young Elites" by Marie Lu.  I loved her other series that had begun with "Legend" and can't wait to read this one.  I can't wait to see you then for that review!!

"Undertow" By Michael Buckley

Okay, let's do this a little differently this time because, even though I'm freaking out about this book I think I should at least let you know what it's about before I give my short review.  And then the spoiler filled one that I suggest NOT reading until you've read this book.

Like seriously.

MERMAIDS.

That is all.

Sixteen-year-old Lyric Walker’s life is forever changed when she witnesses the arrival of 30,000 Alpha, a five-nation race of ocean-dwelling warriors, on her beach in Coney Island. The world’s initial wonder and awe over the Alpha quickly turns ugly and paranoid and violent, and Lyric’s small town transforms into a military zone with humans on one side and Alpha on the other. When Lyric is recruited to help the crown prince, a boy named Fathom, assimilate, she begins to fall for him. But their love is a dangerous one, and there are forces on both sides working to keep them apart. Only, what if the Alpha are not actually the enemy? What if they are in fact humanity’s only hope of survival? Because the real enemy is coming. And it’s more terrifying than anything the world has ever seen.

Does that not intrigue you??

It should.  But to be honest I wasn't the one who bought this book... I had gone to a book signing for a few authors at my most favorite place to go to: Books of Wonder.  They are literally THE BEST place to go to meet a bunch of authors, especially if you need suggestions on what to read next.

And so I went.  And there he sat, Michael Buckley, and after listening to what he had to say I turned my face towards my father with puppy dog eyes as wide as saucers... and he rolled his eyes and bought me my own copy.  So it's been sitting here.  For quite some times now.  And so I read it.

And loved it.

You've got Lyric Walker who is the most bad-ass girl I've read about - I should specify, she WAS a bad-ass girl before the arrival of the Alpha.  She's still smart, and a "wild thing," but she's more timid, more hide-in-the-crowd now.  SECRETSSSSSSS

Also you've got the Alpha who are like a bunch of sea creatures with legs.  I'm totally serious.  Like one looks like a jellyfish, one looks like coral, one's got barnacles growing on them, another with suction cups on their chest.   Like seriously.  It's awesome.

And then there's this war between them and humanity... sort of.  Not really.  But you'l find out!

SO.  Go and read this please!!!  My overall rating is 4 Stars.

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Below this line my review is FILLED with spoilers.  So please, go and read, come back, and then see what you agree with.  What you disagree with.  If you loved it tell me.  If you hated it tell me.  BUT GO AND READ THIS.  It's worth the read.

OK!  Whew, not that that's over I'm done.  I have nothing left to say.

Except, well, EVERYTHING.

Story - It kept me interested, to say the least.  You've got this girl who suffers from awful migraines (I feel your pain, Lyric) and she's got her mom and dad and a bestie named Bex, and they live in Coney Island.  Inside the Zone.  Because they can't leave.

That sucks.

And the reason they can't leave?  Three years ago the Alpha walked out of the sea and onto the beach.  And they haven't left.  And they refer to themselves as the First Men.  Why?  I don't know.  They're more like fish than man, but whatever.  They're awesome and powerful and fight like non-stop.  All the time.  Because they're warriors.  

Insert eye roll here.  

Anyways, Her BFF Bex comes from an abusive home, theirs a gang called the CI9 - the Coney Island Niners (named after nine soldiers who died in their first contact with the Alpha) - and they are a hate group.  There's no way around it.  They are a hate group filled with thugs.  And they begin recruiting children in the school.  Why?  Because the Alpha are being allowed to attend.

And then there's Governor Bachman.  That Witch.  (Subtract the W add the B, if you know what I mean.)  And she's all like "We need to keep them out!" and "They're filthy animals.  We don't educate our dogs."

Some really messed up stuff.

And of COURSE Lyric is chosen for a secret project: Help the Alpha prince, Fathom, to become more HUMAN.  That's right, because what's wrong with being their people?  Nothing except everything.  They might have a society and culture and language and religion, but they don't want to adapt our culture?  THE HORROR!!!!!

Anyways... to make this a bit short, let's sum this up:  Everything is going ok and then a shooter comes into the school, shutting it down, and then Bex gets with their other BFF Shadow, and Lyric helps the Prince still until they get jumped, and then Shadow gets jumped by Bex's cray CI9 step dad who beats her and dies, and so they go back to school and her and Fathom have a hot and steamy make out sess (YESSSSSS) and then the Niners are allowed back in school (because they've been getting arrested but Bachman - witch - brings them back which results in one of the Alpha kids getting beat up.  So she kills the human child, as is their way of life (Like I said, ALWAYS FIGHTING) and then goes missing.  And then the Governor releases a news story about Lyric.  Because her mother is Alpha, Sirena to be exact, and that makes her a half-breed.

And so they get jumped, and they run, but the father gets injured in a car accident.  So they go to the Alpha for protection but - not surprising - Lyric's mom is a traitor to her people and needs to prove her innocence.  Which apparently she doesn't.  So she ends up having to fight to the death against the Prime.  But Fathom fights for him.  And so Lyric fights on behalf of her mom and they slip this awesome gold glove on her hand and she can CONTROL THE WATER.  LIKE WTH BECAUSE THAT IS AWESOMEEEEEEE.

And so you find out the the true enemy are these weird creatures that were the lower class of the Alpha world: the Rusalka.  They're like toads with legs and claws.  And you also learn that the Prime is stark-raving-mad.  Like total psycho.  And then they invade but Lyric and a few of them escape to go find the Alpha (and the half-humans children) that have been taken captive.  

And that's it.

My issue was that there were some events that were mentioned, and then never spoken of again.  I'm sorry, if a shooter came into my school with GRENADES I would still be talking about it.  Same with a few other events.  So I have to take a half star away from the total because of it.  Which makes me super sad because I REALLY liked this book.

4/5

Characters:  I NEEDED the physical descriptions of the characters.  And I'm sad to say that, if there was one, I don't remember it.  It was never addressed again.  Like the author never said Bex brushed her brown hair back, or gold hair, or anything to remind us of what they looked like.  No eye color, nothing.

Otherwise you have another "pants" situation.  For those who don't know, a couple of years ago this Blog (I can't remember the name of it at the moment but will add it when I find it) posted a review of Twilight, and compared Bella to a pair of pants because her lack of physical description allows the reader to just slip on those pants and pretend it's them.  I need to take away a half star for this because I feel like it's so important.  But otherwise the characters were flushed out enough for their personalities to shine through.

Like she ISN'T Bella because she actually has a spine.  And a mouth.  And she's not okay with a 117 year-old stalker who watches her sleep.  But I digress.

4/5

World: It was perfect.  I could picture this world, especially since I just went to Coney Island recently and realized where everything was.  So that was awesome.  And I could totally picture the Alpha on the beach, living in a ghetto of sand and scrap, junk.  

And the FEAR is palpable in this book, running the show from the get-go.  It was intense and yet I BELIEVED it.  I wanted to punch people.  I cried for others.  (SHADOW!!!!! ::wails in the distance::)

5/5

I'm actually going to combine Writing and Originality in this one because they worked hand in hand to create a unique story with beautiful language.

"I am not without fear, but my curiosity gets the best of me every time.  I leap from my bed, pull up the blackout blinds, press my face against the windowpane, and squint hard before they melt back into shadows.  Like most nights, I am too late.  They're here and then they're gone, like lightning bolts stabbing at the flesh of night.  The only evidence they were here at all is the ragged wound in the peace and quiet. 
"But there's still plenty to see.  From not far behind comes a mob of men and boys armed with bats and booze, our neighborhood's self-appointed guard dogs.  They bark threats and give chase.  And then, to close the show, here come the police with their lights and squealing squad-car tires.  An amplified voice demands that everyone clear the streets, while a helicopter hovers overhead, poking into backyards and abondoned lots with its frantic spotlight.  I hear a gunshot.  Pop! Then more.  Pop! Pop!  
"It's after curfew in Coney Island."

Beautiful imagery brings this book to life, and the way it's executed is delightful.

5/5

Overall I have to grudgingly give this book a 4 out of 5 stars.  I wanted to give it more, but I can't.  But yeah, this is my review of "Undertow."  Yes, I already bought the sequel.  Of COURSE I did.

Did you expect anything less?

I feel like I keep reading great books one after another.

It's amazing.

My next read is actually a sequel to a book I read when it had first come out:  "the King Slayer" by Virginia Boecker.   I had read "the Witch Hunter" in June of last year shortly after meeting the author, and I'm so excited for part two!!!!!

So for now I have to say goodbye.

Until next time.

And I swear, I won't be as tired as I am now.

(I had dreams of fish people that had me tossing and turning.  DAMN YOU MICHAEL BUCKLEY FOR WRITING A BOOK WITH FANTASTIC DESCRIPTIONS!!!

But, like, don't stop writing.)

"Poison Princess" by Kresley Cole

HOLY BANANAS!!!

(Hmm, maybe I'll start this differently.  Wait a minute, nope.  Never mind.  I choose to leave that there.)

Okay that's it!

Would you hate me if "HOLY BANANAS!!!" was my review and that was it?  Because it is.

I'm joking!

I just can't seem to find the words to begin this review.

"Poison Princess" by Kresley Cole is the first in her Arcana Chronicles series, with four books and a novella published and a fifth book on the way next year.  Published in 2012, I have waited FOUR YEARS to finally read this (my TBR pile is immense and I don't even know where to begin so I just Jenga it and pull at it randomly and pray that it doesn't topple over on my cats.  It won't, they're on bookshelves, but still).

After finishing it I had some questions, some answers, and a new fandom to jump into ::screaming like a crazy fangril with the book in my hand as I run towards the fandom::

I guess let's begin with a quick summary of what I think about this book **SPOILER FREE** ::cough cough:: go read the book before you continue ::cough cough::

In my opinion, this book was excellent.

There.

Again, TOTALLY kidding.

The book was original in it's dystopian telling, which is rare among the dystopian novels out there because they literally sound the same sometimes.  Trust me.  And the characters kept secrets which had me wanting to know more, along the way you pick up more characters with more secrets and then you're like GIVE ME MOREEEEE but they don't.  They want you to wait.  And it's a total bummer but it's worth it.  You may want to smack the main character Evie.  I know this, because I was one of those people.  But it's okay.  It get's better.  I PROMISE.  But if you want something cool with amazing writing set in this crazy cool world, then PLEASE GO AND READ THIS ALREADY!!!

(For the purpose of a more rounded summary, this is the actual dust jacket paneling:

She could save the world—or destroy it.

Sixteen-year-old Evangeline "Evie" Greene leads a charmed life, until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future—and they're still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux.

But she can't do either alone.

With his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, and bad attitude, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. Even though he once scorned her and everything she represented, he agrees to protect Evie on her quest. She knows she can't totally depend on Jack. If he ever cast that wicked grin her way, could she possibly resist him?

Who can Evie trust?

As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of twenty-two teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it's not always clear who is on which side.)

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Okay so check this out: below this line, this review will be FILLED WITH SPOILERS so please go and read and then come back!!! 

Or don't.  I won't tell you how to live your life.  But you'll ruin this great book.

"But Laura, I really want to know what happens..."

Go.  Read.  This.  Book.

Seriously.

Okay!

So, the summary of the book is simple: a girl discovers that her craziness isn't really delusions at all but actually visions of the future impending destruction of the world.  And she can control plants.  Seriously.  Like Poison Ivy but a little more whiney.  But cooler.  Seventeen year old Evangeline is actually the Empress, a card in the major arcana of the tarot decks, and the end of the world is just the beginning of the battle between the cards.

Like I said: holy bananas.

Evangeline and her mother escape "the Flash," the bright light that burns everyone and their houses and kills off water.  But it's totally believable that they survive.  In their cellar.  I'll write that off as hopeful thinking but anyways, as the world worsens - especially in her hometown in Louisiana - Evie discovers that she can use her blood to make plants grow again.  Along with the help of hottie Cajun Jackson Deveaux, Evie needs to travel to her Gran's house in North Carolina to learn who/what she is and what she needs to do to stop the visions and find some answers.

Of course, nothing is simple.  It's a dystopian novel, there needs to be some crazy things going on, like the Bagmen - zombies that flock to water and drink blood from the necks of their victims - and slavers, an army of crazy men (did I mention that all the women in the world are pretty much gone and so they are sought out for as prizes?  No?  Oh, well I'm mentioning it now and there.  You can't yell at me.) and cannibals.  Cannibals?  Yes.  Although we don't see them in this book they are mentioned which means next book we'll see them.  Probably.

As they continue on their journey they run into the first Arcana person - besides our little Empress - which is the Moon, also known as slutty slut McGee.  I mean Selena Lua, the Lara Croft wannabe.  (Can you tell I hate her?  I don't.  I just wish she'd walk off a cliff blindfolded.  Into a ravine with sharp rocks.)  As she begins to wedge herself in-between the Jack (Jackson) and Evie - "the Bringer of Doubt" indeed - Evie begins to wage a war inside herself, deciding that she needs to go and save this boy she's been having visions of (Matthew: the Fool card) and try and not focus on the love that Selena has for Jack and question whether he has love for Selena back.

However, this is where things start to hit the fan.  HARD.  Matthew and Evie are captured by militia men who happen to have Finneas a.k.a Finn, the Magician card, captive.  This is where things get interesting as they are escaping and Evie (FINALLY) uses her powers.  Sort of.  Okay, so I admit, I wanted to slap her, shake her around, and yell into her ear "YOU ARE NOT POWERLESS YOU DUMB GIRL JUST KILL THEM ALREADY" but alas, my voice went unheard, and the next thing you know they sit in a room with Jack outside keeping watch, talking about who they are and what they can do without the non-arcana guy overhearing.

After a particularly nasty fight - and the realization that SURPRISE! this crazy, homicidal red witch that Evie has been dreaming about is actually a past version of the Empress - she runs away (having *supposedly* witnessed Selena and Jack making out) and ends up in Tennessee at this serial killer's house - who also happens to be Arthur, the Hermit card - and then she gives in to her powers just as he's about to chain her up.  She kills him, horribly, but relishes in her power, and Jack makes the sign of the cross because he is scared of her - of COURSE he is, he's a normy and she's arcana - and then, for the first time in months, IT RAINS.  THE END.  AND GUESS WHAT, I ALREADY BOUGHT THE NEXT BOOK BECUASE I HAVE A GREAT NEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDD TO READ ON!!!!!

Okay, whew.  That's a whole lot of story.

1) Story: five stars.  Reason?  I couldn't put it down.  The story had me hooked from page one all the way through to the end.  So definitely go pick this up if you want a cool story about teens who are born as tarot cards.  Kind of.  Okay, that's a bad description but you get the gist.

The characters themselves are okay.  Like I loved Evie in the end, but during the book I wanted to throttle her and slap some sense into this girl.  LIKE COME ON!!!

Her mother, her "perfect" (jock) boyfriend, and Mel are the people in her life BF (also known as Before Flash) who kept her life together along with a couple of minor characters that literally get one liners in this book.  Like that's it.  But once the destruction happens they all die.  Except her mom.  Who dies later on from an internal injury.  Totally messed, right?

I couldn't stand Selena.  But I'm like 99999999999999% sure she's bad anyways.  And that she'll die.  Painfully.  In another book.  Unfortunately she survived book one so boo.  But honestly I couldn't stand her because she was literally Miss I'm-so-perfect-just-look-at-my-legs-and-hair-and-butt-and-I-can-do-cool-things but like honestly, she can shoot a boy really fast.  Like super fast.  (Okay Hawkeye, you're not the leader of the Avengers.  Just chill.)  But to compliment her we have Matthew, the Fool, the cute, adorable, sad, autistic (I don't really think he is, I just think his visions of the future had cause him to lose touch with reality and that's why they thought he was) boy who helps Evie out through visions that cause nosebleeds.

I wanted to hug him.  Evie did.  Ten points to Evie!

Jack I wanted to punch.  But then again, he is the male, non-arcana equivalent to Selena.  Yet he is the love interest.  UGH.  I don't know though, the Cajun is really hot.  Like his accent and the way he speaks French.  And his looks.  Definitely his looks.  But he's such a jerk!!

Okay, I digress.  The characters work together (I won't bother with the crude Finn or the psycho Arthur because they didn't really have a lot of page time, but they weren't bad when it came to the book as a whole) and have things to offer one another that I appreciated, but to be honest I was a little mad at how PATHETIC Evie was for like 90% of the book.  I kept hoping and hoping and then when the change happened I was like HOLY BANANAS (again, this is my phrase for this book because I can't describe it any other way) and became 110% team Evie.  Like "You Go GIRL!!!!!!!" ::cheerleading on the side as she rips people in half:: "GIVE ME AN 'E'!!!"

(off in the distance: "E!!!")

No but seriously:

2) The Characters really do make the book.  Did I care enough about the characters to find out what happens to them?  Yes.  Did I want to punt them across the room more than half the time?  Yes.  So unfortunately, I have to give this: four stars (I'll take one out because Evie seriously whines wayyyyy too much in the beginning, but when she becomes badass, she really is totally, 100000% badass).

Okay, the Flash was like the coolest way the world could go.  Along with the rising of the Arcana, and Death as a major villain we will (AMAZINGLY) witness fight Evie in a later book, the ENTIRE WORLD IS JUST INTENSE.  Like no water?  No animals (not really)?  No plants?  NO TECHNOLOGY?!?!?!  I probably would've been one of the morons to look at the Aurora Borealis and be like "OOOOOHHHHHH SHINYYYYY" and then be burned into a pile of ash.

I couldn't get enough of the world and how insane everybody is.  ("But what if someone nice is still out there?" No, shut your mouth Evie.  You're the only "good person" alive.  "But..."  No.  Shut up.)

3) World: five stars.  For the idea, the execution, the consistency, the different aspects, and the truth in the sense that if there really was an apocalypse then the survivors would have to deal with a lot of what they actually deal with.  SEVEN MONTHS LATER.  Like I couldn't imagine lasting a month, let alone SEVEN of them.

4) The writing really is beautiful.

"The witch tapped her chin with a thorn claw, reminding herself that it was not yet her time for her encounter with Death.  She turned her attention to the sailors, the last remaining survivors of the village she had plagued with spores and a tempest of thorns.

"Now the sailors grew bolder, more boisterous.  They mocked her, lewdly exposing their genitals.

"Death's glittering eyes were locked on her face, ever watchful of his foe.

"He would enjoy a show indeed.

"'Though it's not my way... if they shan't come to me, I must go to them.'  She strode purposely down the beach.  At the sea's edge she didn't slow, simply stepped upon the surface, blithely walking on water."

Well??  Not enough?  What about the fact that she CALLS THE PLANTS IN THE OCEAN TO HELP HER WALK ON WATER OR THE FACT THAT SHE USES THE PLANTS (again, the ones in the ocean) LIKE FREAKING TENTACLES SHORTLY AFTER THIS SO THAT THEY CAN CRUSH SHIPS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Again, I'm ranting, but i have to give this five stars because of the language she uses to describe EVERYTHING.  It's beautiful, imagery heavy, and has a tendency to capture everything in that scene perfectly.

5) Originality wise, five freaking stars.  Are you surprised?  Because I was, especially since the book starts in another perspective: Arthur's.  The book begins at the end, where Evie walks into Arthur's house and drinks hot chocolate laced with poison so that he can drug her and experiment on her.  Like the three girls/women locked in the basement already.  You come back to him twice more before it goes back to her perspective and she STUNS you with this revelation that she needs to embrace her arcana, become the Empress.

Between that and the complete inclusion of the tarot cards, this book was so original that I didn't mind reading a dystopian novel.

All in all, twenty-four out of twenty-five stars is not bad at all!!!!  That's still an A on a paper, so in my book that's amazing!!

(Just for good measures I'll throw it in once more)  HOLY BANANAS!!!

I hope you enjoyed my review of "Poison Princess".  The next book I'm reading is "Undertow" by Michael Buckley, and I look forward to reviewing it as well!

Welcome to Our Book Blog!

Hello hello!

I'm Laura, from the K&L Book Club!

After doing some serious thinking (and thinking and thinking) I figured that all of the people who watch our videos are forced to wait a month for a review of our next book!  And I'm sure that, like me, you're probably sitting there like "Oh my god, I don't know what I'm going to do!  I need to know about other books!  One book a month is never enough!" - or something like this - and so we decided to do a written blog of all of the other books we read during the month!

Of course, some books we love more than others.  Some books are for school and so we are a bit more critical.  Some books have prettier covers, more beautiful writing, even more amazing characters than others.  And you're probably sitting there, nails bitten down to nubs, screaming at the screen "EVERY BOOK IS BEAUTIFUL INSIDE AND OUT!" and I agree.  Every book is beautiful because it has come from the mind of a wonderful author who had the courage to sit down and write out the thoughts in their head into a cohesive story (like most of the time).

But here's a little secret: I might like a book inside and out, and the person RIGHT NEXT TO ME might absolutely abhor it.  Or maybe I don't like a book (hey, it happens) and you might be sitting there clutching it to your chest, heaving sobs ripping through you and sit there saying "LEAVE ____ ALONE!"  I'm sorry, I can't help you.  I never intended to make you cry.  Here's a hug ::hug::

However, I will be 110% honest about my opinions on the books I read and have read, although to be honest I don't think I'm going to delve into past books with the exceptions of the last two that I've read (it seems unfair to ask me to think back further than that since the minute details begin to get muddled after reading more and more and more and... I'm sorry, where was I?  Oh, yes, I need to make sure I stay 10000% honest and I can't do that if I'm reviewing from memory).

SO.  You're probably wondering "But Laura, how will you be able to rate a book fairly?"
Simple: I will split the book into FIVE categories.  "Five you say?"  "Indeed."

1. Story.  Did the story captivate me?  Did it move well?  What was it about and how did it tie in at the end?
2. Characters.  Of COURSE the characters are important.  I love so many that if they were real I'd be besties with them.  And then I'd have so many friends!  (Sobbing in the corner.  Hiccups.  Rub nose on sleeves.)   
3. World.  I don't know about you but this is probably my favorite part about fantasy and science fiction.  I NEED it to be believable.  I need to be there, seeing what they see.  I need to be where the people are... I promise I won't break out into Disney songs.  All of the time.  Maybe.
4. Writing is definitely important.  If you're not clear enough, if the language is muddy, (if it's in languages I don't understand without translations or even a way for me to figure out what it means except for the computer - which breaks up my reading and wants me to read less) than the points go down and then I get sad.
5. Originality.  I read so much that sometimes I come across books that sound EXACTLY THE SAME.  

We all know this typical cliche, my fellow book nerds.  "Oh no how can I, a 17 year old, survive in this kind of world where the government decided to do this and yet I feel like there's this power inside of me..."  Wow, I just wrote my first novel.  Right there.  Where's my movie deal?

But that's pretty much it!  I can't wait to get my first review out there (I swear, I just need to do the homework that I am totally procrastinating on doing and then you will get your review of the book I finished yesterday.  It's a surprise.  Okay, not really.  But is it?????????) which will be for the wonderful "Poison Princess" by Kresley Cole.

I'll be back.

Like seriously.

Don't panic.  It's not like it's the end of the world.

OR IS IT?!

No, I'm only joking.  I'm not even seventeen!  So it can't be.  Unless being in your twenties is the new seventeen.  THEN WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!!!

I mean we are.  Just not RIGHT now.  Because the world is not ending.  Maybe.

*** I DO NOT OWN THAT PICTURE!!! Or that twitter account.  Courtesy of those posts goes to @DystopianYA with their fabulous Twitter account.  Here's their link for more amazing tweets: https://twitter.com/DystopianYA