Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

2 stars

Guy Montag is fireman. He burns books for a living and enjoys it. But Montag has a secret and it could be his downfall in the world that he lives in. Eh… what to say that hasn’t already be said about this book? Well for starters in my opinion this book is boring and it is full of metaphors. This book is like a brain workout. It doesn’t that I have to read this for English class and that means an in depth exploration of the book. This book isn’t bad, but it’s painstakingly slow. I did enjoy it sometimes though. The world is fairly interesting and definitely different. It’s probably not different now, but this book is older than my mom so it’s original in my opinion.


The main male character is Guy Montag. He is known as Montag throughout most of the novel so I’ll call him Montag. Montag is an OK character. It’s hard for me to connect to a hero like Montag. Why? Here are some reasons: 1) I’m not a middle-aged man. 2) I’m not going through a dystopian-mid-life crisis. 3) I don’t enjoy setting fires because I’m not a pyromaniac. 4) I don’t live in a world like this and can’t imagine a place with books because it’s blasphemy. I’m sure there are people out there that love Montag. I’m not one of those people. I don’t like or hate him. For me he was just a part of the book and getting a valuable point across.

Swoon Worthy Scale:   
No, just, no.

The Villain- I don’t know who to point my finger at first. Captain Beatty is the obvious choice since he was the evilest person in the book, but I think Mildred has a spot up there too.

Villain Scale: 5

I’m not going to breakdown anything else. Since I had to suffer through this book, I’m not rehashing it. If you’re curious about it and a fan of classics go for it. I don’t hate anything about this book except that I think this book has way too many metaphors and it’s boring. It’s not particularly bad, but it isn’t amazing. I was also the only person in my class to actually finish reading the book. I should deserve a medal for what I went through. It took me fifteen minutes just to read ten pages. That is ridiculous. Metaphors are good, but I don’t need five hundred of them in a book with less than 300 pages. I’m critical and don’t have much to say about it besides the basic complaint from a high schooler forced to read this book.


Cover Thoughts: My cover has a phoenix on it. Just like in Harry Potter. 
 

Happy Easter!

I meant to put it under my review earlier, but I forgot! Oops! Well, Happy Easter to those who celebrate it! I hope you all get fat on chocolate bunnies 'cause I know I am!

And All the Stars by Andrea K. Host

And All the Stars by Andrea K. Host

4 stars

The original synopsis is quite the entrapping one with opening lines like this:
Come for the apocalypse.
Stay for cupcakes.
Die for love.
How can you not become instantly curious? I know my already interested mind was ensnared. Madeline “Maddie” Cost is an aspiring artist. It is her dream to win the Archibald Prize, which would make her the youngest winner ever. Her famous cousin, Tyler, is the perfect subject for her portrait and all she needs is to get him to sit down for it. She never expected the Spires to come. The Spires are huge and they spray dust over the lands. No one knows where the Spires come from, but Maddie has to find a way out of St. James Station in Sydney first. When she does what she discovers is a new world and an ending one. This book is something incredibly different from what I would usually read and it is also incredibly unique. Everything about And All the Stars screams originality when it comes to the destruction of our world as we know it. One of my favorite things about this novel is the time line of the book. Instead of our usual YA book where it’s about rebuilding this was about fighting something while it is happening and I loved that. It was refreshing and a great sci-fi novel. I don’t read sci-fi and prefer it on the TV or in movies, but I enjoyed this book. One of my biggest qualms with this book was how much was just running and not fighting, but I can appreciate this because it was a part of the Musketeers journey. It also took me a whole month to read this book because I happen to be fairly busy in the month of March. I’m busier than I expected to be so I didn’t have time to just sit there and be immersed in the world filled with Spires and Blues and Greens. This book is very quick and happens in a period of less than a month, but it feels like weeks with all the plotting and discovering. This isn’t a bad thing at all. In fact I love that it wasn’t a long and drawn out takeover of the earth, but a much quicker one. It seemed more realistic, well about as realistic as aliens and invasions can get.


The main female character is Maddie. Maddie is a good heroine, but I lost interest in her and then I would regain it. One of my favorite things about Maddie is her passion for art. Even when the world is ending she finds beauty and paints or draws it. Maddie was a lot more relatable than I would expect a girl in her position to be. I know that if I was in her position I would’ve been just as scared as her and she was incredibly brave at times. I admire her for that because her bravery is more impulsive than to prove that she’s a hero. She wants to save her friends and that’s admirable considering that she’s only known them a few days.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 9

The main male character is Fisher. I’m not incredibly sure where I stand where Fisher is concerned. I’m as hopelessly confused as Maddie was, but I still haven’t come to a conclusion about my feelings for him. In my opinion, I liked him before the big reveal of big reveals (if you’ve read the book you’ll know what I’m talking about). I didn’t particularly think Fisher was a great love interest, but I liked the connection that he shared with Maddie. Guess what you guys? This book has sex. Not very descriptive adult romance kind of sex, but it isn’t that weird awkward sex that we sometimes get in YA. I was pleased by this and hats off to Ms. Host for doing it pretty well and not making it seem out of place. I’m still not sure about how I feel about Fisher. It shall forever remain a conflict within me I guess.

Swoon Worthy Scale: 7

The Villain- I loved the villains because they were well done in where they came from and what their purpose of invasion was. It was interesting, fresh, and new. I loved it. The En-Motts were captivatingly creepy and I loved what they brought to the table. It was so good and I don’t want to spoil if you haven’t read the book and want to or are thinking about it (which I urge you to do).


Villain Scale: 9.5

There was a very wide cast of characters, but I’m going to discuss the main ones, which are mainly the Musketeers. Our first Musketeer that Maddie met was Noi. I really liked Noi. She was funny and even though she was in pain at times from losses, she was cheerful in presence. Then there was Emily and I didn’t hate or particularly like Emily. I’m neutral towards her because I felt like she was just there. Even when she was making a presence I wasn’t moved by it except for when we first met her. Nash was incredibly insightful besides Fisher and their two heads together was better than none. Pan was probably my favorite of them all. He was so funny and upbeat and just full of energy. I loved his passion for theatre and how he would sprout lines from plays at any given moment. Min was like Emily for me, but he made more of an impact because of his sarcasm and smart logic when he did speak. I liked him and wished he was around more. Then we have someone who wasn’t a Musketeer, but was still crucial. Maddie’s cousin, Tyler, wasn’t around a whole lot in the novel but he had a big impact on Maddie so he had a presence. I did like him, but he wasn’t around a whole for me to make a huge decision about how much.

Character Scale: 8

The ending wrapped up perfectly and I’m satisfied with it. I definitely enjoyed And All the Stars and I recommend giving it a shot even if you don’t like sci-fi. I usually don’t, but I was intrigued and I’m so glad I gave this a shot. This is definitely a great novel and it shouldn’t be overlooked. I will definitely be reading more of Host’s works.


Cover Thoughts: I absolutely love the cover. It’s one of my all-time favorites. The stars are perfect on Maddie’s face and fit the story perfectly. It fits with the tale of the Blues without giving it away. 

Seduction of a Highland Warrior by Sue-Ellen Welfonder

Seduction of a Highland Warrior by Sue-Ellen Welfonder

Third in the Highland Warrior trilogy

4.5 stars
Alasdair MacDonald is sworn to preserve the peace in the Glen of Many Legends. It’s easier said than done. Kendrew Mackintosh and Alasdair can never let their feud die even though the King says that they must. It doesn’t help that his heart belongs to Kendrew’s sister, Marjory. Marjory will do anything to unite the clans. Her friends have already married men from warring clans and she wants to do the same even if it means seducing Alasdair. Marjory has always loved him, but there’s a threatening presence in the glen and it could be the end. I always seem to read historical romance series out of order. I don’t regret doing that this time though because I loved this book. I had wanted to read a Highland romance for a while and I finally got the chance. I absolutely adored the tale of these Highlanders. There was magic in little parts of the story and it was refreshing to read something besides YA or paranormal. The writing was very entrancing. I loved how much detail went into describing the Glen and the clans’ strongholds.


The main female character is Marjory. I liked Marjory and her quips with Alasdair were fun and amusing. I liked her spirit and it was refreshing to read about someone with so much willpower to win a man’s heart. I did get frustrated with her when Alasdair and Marjory were caught and a fought broke and some were said. It brought about one of the things I hate most in romances. When the heroine doubts the man she loves even though it is blatantly obvious that he is wrapped around her finger. It did make Marjory a more believable character, but it was still frustrating.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 8

The main male character is Alasdair.



I love Highlanders and Alasdair is perfection. I needed a swoon worthy Highlander and I got one. I wish they had more highlanders in YA it would prove interesting, but it’s probably best left in adult fiction. Alasdair was dashing and definitely a fun character. I could list a thousand reasons why I loved Alasdair, but I figured that might take the fun out of reading the book and finding out for one's self. I wish I had a Highlander.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 9.5

The Villain- I’m actually really disappointed with where it was going. Although the villains did manage to infuriate me and hope they didn’t mess anything up. I was still disappointed. There wasn’t a paranormal villain like there had been hinted at, but it was still interesting.


Villain Scale: 7

Isobel was probably my favorite character because of her scheming to make sure that Alasdair and Marjory. Kendrew infuriated me with trying to marry Marjory to any Norseman that walked by, but I did like him. I really liked all the clansmen and I enjoyed the POVs of Dragan and Seona. Each character was interesting and had a special distinction from one another.

Character Scale: 9
I loved the tale weaved and the romance. I am slightly letdown by the ending, but also pleased. I do plan on reading the previous books in the trilogy and hope to fall in love with more Highland warriors.


Cover Thoughts: I like how the cover is painted, but I didn’t picture Alasdair to look like that. It is beautiful though.


A copy was provided by Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Surrender by Rhiannon Paille

Surrender by Rhiannon Paille

First in The Ferryman and the Flame series

1.5 stars (DNF)

Kaliel is always getting into trouble. She sneaks off to swim with mermpeople and one night meets Krishani. Krishani is meant to marry the land and leave Avristar to join the Lands of Men. Kaliel is apparently warned about her love according to the synopsis about her love for the Ferryman. She is also a Flame, one of nine apocalyptic weapons, sparking a warking. She awakens Avred, not knowing she may have to make the ultimate sacrifice. I don’t know what half of this means because apparently this is a synopsis of something else because this wasn’t what I was reading at all. It could’ve developed into what the synopsis hinted but I couldn’t bring myself to read past 35% of the book. I hate DNFing, but I couldn’t go on. This synopsis seems misleading to me because I was reading about a girl frolicking about causing mischief and thinking about Krishani’s beautiful mismatched eyes while also fearing her trip to the Great Oak.


The main female character is Kaliel. Kaliel is constantly being told that she is special. In my opinion the only special thing about Kaliel is the fact that flowers grow when she walks. Other than that Kaliel has no attributes that I can think of. She isn’t very bright and the only thing she seems useful for is making terrible decisions. I personally didn’t like her very much. I tried to, but I found myself disliking her more and more with every page I read. I felt very disconnected from her when I was reading her POV and I just didn’t care what was going to happen next.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 1

The main male character is Krishani. I actually really liked Krishani at first. His POV at the beginning was promising and then he went away and we got Kaliel’s POV, but when he came back his POV was nearly unbearable. I skimmed some parts and found myself rolling my eyes a lot. Kaliel thinks about Krishani’s eyes a lot and Krishani thinks about Kaliel’s a lot. This is really annoying for some reason. With every mention of someone’s eye color I wanted to scream.

Swoon Worthy Scale: 1.5

The Villain- I didn’t get far enough to encounter a villain or a problem.

Villain Scale: DNF

The other side characters all seemed fake and just there to be there and move the story along. I don’t even feel like talking about them, but I will mention one. I really liked Pux. He was interesting and cute in a bubbly way. Plus he has a wicked cool power.


Character Scale: 1

I feel terrible that I wasn’t able to finish this book, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. I told myself at the beginning of this year if I ran into a book that I didn’t enjoy I would DNF and I did that for the first time this year and pretty much my whole entire life. This book probably could’ve been good if I kept reading, but I didn’t want to. Maybe I’ll try to read this again one day, but not anytime soon. I really wanted to like this book, but just because I didn’t like this book, doesn’t mean someone else won’t. This book just didn’t work for me and maybe I wasn’t in the mood for it.

Cover Thoughts: I actually really like the cover. It’s stunning and also why I requested this book. The other covers for it are very pretty, too.

A copy was provided by Netgalley and Create Space for an honest review.

The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

Third in the Bloodlines series

5 stars!

Spoilers of previous books ahead***
Sydney’s world has been shattered in just a few seconds her world and perfectly constructed barriers crack. Adrian Ivashkov has confessed to her his love and left her with an earth shattering kiss. Everything comes into question and she finally finds the alluring Marcus Finch- a former Alchemist who escaped and is on the run. Marcus wants Sydney to join the rebellion against the Alchemist, but Sydney is learning that breaking free is harder than she thought. Sydney is dragged into searching for a witch targeting younger witches and she must learn to accept that magic in her blood. 


This book was amazing and perfect. Mead has done it again and I’m still as enchanted as I was with The Golden Lily and even more in love with this series. I can say this hands down with absolutely certainty that Mead is one my favorite writers ever! This world just keeps getting better and better. I was a little scared going into The Indigo Spell. I kept thinking what I didn’t like it as much as the previous books? What if I feel let down? I have a fear of series and continuing them. I have started at least over 50 series and I’ve probably only finished five of them. With Mead I always seem to love her books though. I didn’t have the problem that a lot of people had with Bloodlines, but I must agree with them that these books do get better.


The main female character is Sydney. I feel like Sydney is one of the reasons this series keeps getting better. At least for me it is. I’ve noticed how a lot of people don’t like Sydney because she isn’t Rose. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I don’t want another Rose. I like the person that Sydney is becoming. She’s becoming stronger and she’s starting to make decisions about who she is and wants to be. I like that about Sydney. Rose knew who she was, but Sydney had to find it. She’s finding it and I love her journey. I actually liked Sydney a lot more in this book. She did get on my nerves because of her rejection of Adrian, but by the ending of the book I was cheering for. Mead knows how to create a good heroine.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 10

The main male character is Adrian.



You know what else Mead knows what to create? A hot, swoon worthy guy that isn’t an ass. Adrian is pure perfection. I am in love with him more than ever because of this book. I actually didn’t like Adrian very much in VA, but he grew on me. By the end of Bloodlines I liked him a lot and at the end of The Golden Lily, I was almost in love. I am now officially head over heels in love with Adrian and dating him mentally in my mind. Adrian has grown as a character, too. He still has that Adrian humor, but he also has grown into someone else. I love Adrian and I hope that nothing happens to him like with Dimitri because I would not be able to bear it.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 10

The Villain- The Alchemists aren’t a real problem yet, but I look forward to when they become the main fight that Sydney has to face. This time the villain was a witch. I won’t say who, but I did enjoy the battle scene.

Villain Scale: 8

Jill, Eddie, Angeline, Trey, and Ms. Terwilliger are back. Jill is almost nonexistent in the book. She’s there and has moments, but she had absolutely no effect on me until the last chapter. Jill has grown up and she’s actually a very smart girl. Eddie just always gets hurt. I hope he actually finds happiness for once and with that one person even if I didn’t always like her. Angeline… I saw this new drama coming a mile away. The minute Sydney posed the question I saw it coming. Trey is a character that I really like, but I don’t trust him. Ms. Terwilliger plays a huge part in this book and she is so cool. Dimitri, Rose, Lissa, Christian, Abe, and Sonya showed up in this novel.


Character Scale: 10

Also there is a dragon and it is the coolest and cutest thing Mead has created. I want one. This is becoming one of my favorite series and I can’t wait for The Fiery Heart. I am looking forward to Adrian’s POV along with Sydney’s.


Cover Thoughts: I love this cover. My only problem is Adrian’s beautiful face not being more on the cover. I want more Adrian. He is perfect. These covers are always so intricate and I love the tattoos.

OBXers!

Summary via Goodreads:

Nestled along the coastline of North Carolina, the Outer Banks Tennis Academy is the best elite tennis training facility in the world. Head Coach, Dominic Kingston has assembled some of the finest talent in the sport. From the game's biggest stars to athletes scraping and clawing to achieve their dreams, OBX is full of ego, drama and romance. Only the strong survive in this pressure cooker of competition, on and off the court.

Penny Harrison, the biggest rising star in tennis, is determined to win the French Open and beat her rival, the world’s number one player, Zina Lutrova. There’s just one problem, the only person who’s ever been able to shake her laser-like focus is her new training partner. Alex Russell, tennis’s resident bad boy, is at OBX recovering from a knee injury suffered after he crashed his motorcycle (with an Aussie supermodel on the back). He's hoping to regain his former place at the top of men’s tennis and Penny’s heart, while he’s at it.

Tennis is all Jasmine Randazzo has ever known. Her parents have seven Grand Slam championships between them and she’s desperate to live up to their legacy. Her best friend is Teddy Harrison, Penny’s twin brother, and that’s all they’ve ever been, friends. Then one stupid, alcohol-laced kiss makes everything super awkward just as she as she starts prepping for the biggest junior tournament of the year, the Outer Banks Classic.

The Classic is what draws Indiana Gaffney out of the hole she crawled into after her mom’s death. Even though she’s new to OBX, a win at the Classic is definitely possible. She has a big serve and killer forehand, but the rest of her game isn’t quite up to scratch and it doesn’t help that Jasmine Randazzo and her little minions are stuck-up bitches or that Jack Harrison, Penny’s agent and oldest brother, is too hot for words, not to mention way too old for her.

Who will rise? Who will fall?

Told from rotating points of view, GAME. SET. MATCH. is a 'new adult' novel about three girls with one goal: to be the best tennis player in the world.


Sounds interesting right? I'm apart of the OBXers street team and I want to get more members. Reasons why you should join:
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