Child of the Moon by Jessica Semaan

Child of the Moon will be published on January 8, 2019!

Child of the Moon by Jessica Semaan

3.75 stars

“You are not a victim. You are closer to God in your pain.

              For your pain is the source of your creation. And creation

              is divine. Your pain is the source of healing yourself and

              others. And healing is divine.”

Poetry is hard to review. It’s personal, introspective, and often times it’s more for the writer than the reader. It’s cathartic and meant to be freeing. Child of the Moon is a process that seems to show that. The beginning is very bitter and angry. I could feel the resentment at the trauma Semaan faced and I was put-off. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t feeling this poetry book because of its bitterness. Then, I kept going and I connected more, especially in the last section—Flower Moon. I believe this is because I am more in the same healing process of the Flower Moon than of the opening—Blood Moon. I had once been bitter and enraged, but now when I think of that person I once was because of the trauma I experienced I want to weep (and shout praise to God for healing me past that brokenness). I am happy I read this because I am big believer in talking about trauma. I believe that the trauma we experience makes us who we truly are down to our core. Vulnerability is so important and I find that we live in a society where everyone wants to be vulnerable, but not actually go past the trauma. Meaning we share our trauma, but not the process of healing. The trauma is ugly enough to compare like our latest Instagram selfies, but God forbid, we compare the ugliest thing we as humans experience—healing. Healing is ugly, but even more beautiful. Because you can’t get to beauty until you’ve faced ugly. Semaan does that with her poetry collection and I respect her for that. I needed a day to ruminate and think about this collection and I like it more and more the further I get away from my first impression. Also, the art in here is colorful and so great. 

The problem I have with this collection is the simplicity of the poems. My biggest complain is that the vast majority of the poems are lists. I love lists, but I don’t think it always works in poetry format. Your list could be the realest and truest thing out there (Healing #1 & Healing #2), but that doesn’t make it a poem. It makes it a powerful image that will be pinned on Pinterest. She also has a tendency to write a lot of two-lined poems. It’s all very tumblr and quick. I’m not opposed to this form of expression, but it isn’t really a poem, more of a reflection of a conceptual idea. The only poem I liked that did this style was “Faith”.

 

Poems I Recommend:

Despair

When you can’t love yourself

When your home is a faraway land (my favorite)

Sitting with the child of the moon

What they called you

You are not a victim

Alone by the creek

  

“It’s never too late to bloom.”

Whimsical Writing Scale: 3

Art Scale: 5

Plotastic Scale: 3.25

Cover Thoughts: I like the cover a lot, but I’d love it so much more if some of the striking art that’s inside was exhibit on it.

Thank you, Netgalley and Andrews McNeel Publishing, for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.  

Are you excited to read Child of the Moon? What poetry books do you recommend? Let me know down below in the comments!

The 5th Wave Trilogy Review

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

First book in The 5th Wave Trilogy

5 stars

"Because if I am the last one, then I am humanity. And if this is humanity's last war, then I am the battlefield."

There have been four waves. Four alien invasions that have decimated the Earth with each brutal invasion. It has left the human inhabitants broken and untrustworthy. The 5th Wave has arrived and with it something far more sinister than what the remaining humans could prepare for. Cassie Sullivan is on the run. Hiding from any other creature who looks like a human and is hunting her down. She refuses to become another victim. Everything changes when she meets Evan Walker and now the promise of rescuing her brother seems possible. As we follow multiple points of view, we discover that this world is not only ravaged by aliens, but the humans who inhabit it. What does the 5th Wave bring and who will ultimately be destroyed? I read this novel in October 2015. This was one of the novels that stuck with me that year. I wanted everyone to read it because Yancey’s writing style had gripped me to my core and made my heart ache at the promises of upcoming destruction for characters that I loved. So, it is December 2018 as I write this review and I have completed the trilogy. A lot of time has passed since I cracked open the pages of this heart-stopping novel. I remember feeling so exhilarated and mystified because the pages were beautiful. Scattered with stars, but sprinkled with words that hit my younger soul in a place I didn’t know I needed to be hit. Is this the best novel I’ve ever read? No, but for some reason when I look at it, I have such an intense feeling of excitement. Excitement over what I felt as I flew through the pages and didn’t know where Yancey would take me. Excitement over how much darker this story was (and I’m trash for a dark theme and characters with enough darkness in their hearts to need a psychological evaluation). This book is full of foreshadowing to where the series is planning to go and I didn’t realize that when I read it, but it’s all there. It’s all laid out. I’m sitting looking at my annotated copy and the first page hints to where The Last Star ends and my mouth is hanging open because that makes me love The 5th Wave all the more.


Whimsical Writing Scale: 5

Cassie Sullivan is a heroine I love rooting for. She is smart and cunning. She’s analytic and weary to trust those who could potentially harm her. Plus, she is a survivalist who thinks about hygiene. Do you know how rare that is in a YA novel? No one wants to acknowledge that girls need deodorant and tampons, but this girl does and she is well-equipped. One of my biggest nitpicks about Cassie though is her incessant need to moon over her first crush, Ben, and she moons over him so much that it is obvious that he must be alive because why else would Yancey spend pages upon pages on her mooning over someone who is dead when he could be alive to rile up a love triangle? Also, can we take a minute to appreciate my notes: "Trust is an anchor and a detonator". (DANG, YOUNGER ME. That’s deep.)


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 5

Zombie’s point of view was hard for me to get through. He wasn’t always the most captivating, but he plays an integral role in this story and while I wasn’t always interested when things did get intense, they got INTENSE. All these kids in the compound training to kill aliens go by nicknames, but we don’t know who exactly Zombie is (but it is so obvious who he is that it is not even funny). I like him, but I don’t love him. I do love Evan, however. I was swooning over him like nobody’s business. According to page 179, this is where Cassie and Evan became a new OTP for me. This makes me laugh because I don’t really ship characters hard like this anymore (every now and then I do), but this love for romance that I had makes me smile. In my heart of hearts before this I suspected many things about Evan and I turned out to be right, but I still love him. I scream on the inside when I think of page 371.
“I open to him, a flower to the rain.”


Swoon Worthy Scale: Zombie-3.5 Evan-5

The Villain- My favorite POV was the Silencer. That was creepy and unsettling. This is a very humanizing portrayal of an alien parasite. It was disturbing and I felt like I was in the mind of a stalker (which I was because he was hunting his prey). I loved it.
“To rid his new home of humanity, he had to become human.”
Also, the villains in this are so multilayered and hard to pin down until about halfway through the novel. This is a darker novel and it doesn’t shy away from having horrible things done to kids for other peoples’ gain.


Villain Scale: 5

“We have survived the death of our childhood.”

Sammy, Cassie’s younger brother, is adorable. I love seeing the world fall apart through innocent eyes of someone so young. It also shakes me up where he goes throughout the novel because to be so young in a world like this means to be someone else’s pawn. His POV is so important to this story and it added a wonderful layer. The other kids we encounter in Wonderland are so complex. There’s Ringer, Teacup, Poundcake, and so many others. It’s so heartbreaking because these kids don’t have their names anymore because they’ve been stripped down to one word that describes them. They’ve been dehumanized and their names are a connection to who they once were and so that means they can’t use them.


Character Scale: 5

Alien invasions sound horrifying, but the invasions in this novel had me scared a bit. They are so easily done. For instance, one of the waves consists of wiping out the vast majority of the population through birds because they are the most common animal on Earth and fly around. Now that’s scary. The 5th Wave is a brilliant novel. It’s predictable at times, but at others, it packs a punch in the plot twist department.


“What doesn’t kill us sharpens us.”

Plotastic Scale: 5

Cover Thoughts: I’ll be honest, I’m not a fan of these covers. I do love the yellow on this one, but it is not a gripping cover.

The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey Narrated by Phoebe Strole & Ben Yannette
Second book in The 5th Wave Trilogy

4.25 stars

*Spoilers for The 5th Wave (book 1) in this review*
The end of The 5th Wave showed us that the aliens are destroying humans through other humans. The best way to get rid of humanity according to them is to rid humans of their humanity and in turn make them killing machines who will strike first think later. Cassie Sullivan and her companions have lived through some of the worst of the waves and they are still pushing through the 5th wave. The crew must decide whether to stay put for the winter and wait for Evan Walker’s return or to set out in search of other survivors. Now they are sitting ducks because attack is inevitable. The question is when will it come and how long do they have to prepare? The basic consensus around The Infinite Sea is that it suffers from second book syndrome and that you should stop reading after The 5th Wave. I disagree. The hard-honest truth is that this is not a better novel than The 5th Wave and I don’t think it was ever trying to be. The Infinite Sea is its own novel and because of that, fans have dragged it through the mud. I almost never picked up this novel despite how much I loved the first novel because of my fear of not liking it. I listened to the audiobook and that made my experience of this novel so enjoyable. Do I think I liked this book more because of that? Heck, yeah. In fact, if you were struggling to gain interest in The Infinite Sea before, let me recommend changing your reading medium to listening because it’s a much more intense experience. The narration is fantastic and with so many alternating POVs it makes for a fun ride. I love Yancey’s writing. For me it’s one of the best things about this trilogy. He’s a strong and consistent writer who knows how to construct simple sentences that pack a punch and are loaded with thought-provoking ideas. His storytelling is great and while there are times when it took me some time get invested, once I was invested, I was in it for the long haul.


Whimsical Writing Scale: 4.5

Narration Scale: 4

Cassie continues to be a character I root for. She wasn’t my favorite thing about this story because she was frustrating in her choices at times, but I still think she’s a strong character. I do believe that her development suffered a bit in this novel because of the severe tragedy and upheaval she faced in the last one. She didn’t have time to process and because of that it left for a lot of unnecessary arguments. Ringer has a POV in this one. I’ll be honest, she was my least favorite part of this novel. She made this novel harder to get through and a bit infuriating. Her choices were selfish and she is prone to recklessness masked under “using her mind to stay alive”. I was also not a fan of where her story went. After I first finished the novel, I was peeved, but I’m not as angry anymore because after reading the last novel it had to go where it did to progress to the end.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: Cassie- 4.25 Ringer- 2.5

Ben is still kicking. I can’t say how I feel about him. I like him. He’s like that candy that you don’t really like eating, but keeping eating anyway because you are craving something sweet. That’s Ben Parrish. Evan is my sweet baby and this novel was all about him. I was living for it. His chapters were my favorite and I was so invested in his story.


Swoon Worthy Scale: Ben- 3.25 Evan- 5

The Villain- We meet a Silencer named Grace. She was annoying. Mainly because she was trying to seduce Evan and I was not having that. I still wanted him to be with Cassie and this girl was pushing it with her psychotic rampages. Colonel Vosch is the bane of my existence. He just loves to torture people and I don’t have time for it. It was just annoying. These aliens are doing the most and I am not a fan. (Mainly because I feel bad for these kids. They need a break.)


Villain Scale: 4.25

Teacup is a small precious flower who needs to be protected at all costs. Naturally, this means that Ringer almost kills her in the first couple of chapters. Good job, Ringer. Megan was another cute introduction, but I felt so bad for her because she has a bomb planted in her throat by the Others. Sammy is a scary killing machine, but he’s still adorable. It’s weird because he wants his teddy bear but also has a gun. Poundcake is an underrated character. I love his comments and he was so brave.


Character Scale: 4.5

This novel goes hard. People die. Important characters. Plots are revealed and thickened. It’s all very frustrating and brilliant at the same time. I know that The Infinite is not a hit with the fans, but it was a hit for me.


Plotastic Scale: 4.25

Cover Thoughts: Not a fan.

The Last Star by Rick Yancey Narrated by Phoebe Strole & Ben Yannette

Third book in The 5th Wave Trilogy

4.5 stars

I’m not going to give a preface of what this novel is about because it’s the final book in this trilogy, so it has a lot going on. The ultimate thing to know is the Final Wave is coming. Honestly, I’m not sure how to review this one. The beginning of this one was slow for me. I was having trouble getting hooked, but I did get invested. It gains its footing and once it does, it goes and then there is a lot of intense action. Yancey creates this dark world filled with dark situations. It should seem hopeless but these characters have a bleak and hopeful attitude towards the future. They aren’t completely lost and it made this novel hard to read at times because Yancey likes to kill characters. He doesn’t mind taking out characters that you may be attached to. The audiobook for this one was captivating. I was on the edge of my seat at times and anticipating what was going to happen next. This novel went there. It went there.


Whimsical Writing Scale: 4.5

Narration Scale: 4.25

Usually I’d talk about characters in a review, but to be honest, I don’t know what to say. This review is hard for me to write. I have to talk about spoilers. The ending scene of this novel because that for me is what made me love this novel. So, if you don’t want to be spoiled, then don’t click the tag. Cassie makes the biggest sacrifice in this novel—herself. I hated Allegiant’s ending because that character felt so unnecessary, but this was brilliant. At the end of the novel, Cassie is plugged into a system that gives her 10,000 people’s memories and emotions. The Mothership comes down with the Final Wave of bombs to decimate all of humanity’s art and civilization (without those things humans will eventually forget and stay in the primitive state of killing). As Cassie sees it, she realizes that she isn’t alone because she has all these people inside of her and she has just killed Evan after her became a monster (completely overtaken by the 12th System- killing machine). She had switched clothes with Ringer and finds a pill that goes off with a person’s breath. She says the prayer that she would always say with Sammy and then bites the pill. She destroys the Others and the ship. She sacrifices herself and it makes sense. It’s heartbreaking and beautiful because she has been coming to this point this whole time. The point where her needs are put aside for others. That is always who Cassie has been at her core. I cried, but I also applauded Yancey for going there. He went there. He killed a character I loved since the beginning and who was the driving force between this story. I didn’t hate him for it because it was brilliant. Also, it seems kind of silly that Ben and Ringer live together with Sammy and Megan and Cassie (Ringer’s daughter), but I honestly don’t mind it. Evan surviving was unexpected, but I’m happy he didn’t die as well because that would have been too much.

Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: Cassie- WOW Ringer- 4

Swoon Worthy Scale: Ben- 4 Evan- 5

Villain Scale: 5

Character Scale: 5

Overall, The Last Star is a hard book to review. I do love this book. Mainly because of the ending. I can’t say much else about it, but that. The ending was one of the best in a trilogy that I’ve ever read. If the beginning was as strong as the ending, I’d have more to say, but that ending was just astounding.


Plotastic Scale: 4.5

Cover Thoughts: It’s the best of the covers, but still not good.


Have you read any of the books in The 5th Wave Trilogy? Did you continue or give up on it? Let me know your thoughts down below in the comments!

Books I've Read in 2018 #37-40

  

Hey, everyone! Today I'm talking about some more books that I read in 2018 and they were more misses than hits for me, but I did find a new favorite that was unexpected. Also, sorry for the loud noises in the background. My parents were cooking and they are not quiet individuals. 

THE BOOKS:

 

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold 5 stars This novel is depressing. It's hard-hitting and wonderful. We follow Susie Salmon before she is murdered by her neighbor and the impact it has on those around her. As much as this story is Susie's it's even more about the people connected to her during her life and how her death has impacted her family, friends, and the community. The audiobook for this is amazing and I can't recommend it enough.

Heaven by V.C. Andrews 3 stars I read this for Peters Book Club and it's been years since I've read Andrews. I used to eat them up like candy when I was in my younger teenage years. Andrews is full of over the top drama and tragedy. Seriously, you will never meet a more down-and-out character than one in a V.C. Andrews novel. She loves to torture her characters and this one was just weird. It got real weird when after Heaven is sold to a rich family and her "step-father" starts making eyes at her and they "fall in love". BLEH. 

 The Luck of the Bride by Janna MacGregor 3 stars This HR isn't bad, but it is so run of the mill. It didn't blow me away or sweep me off my feet. It wasn't the worst I've read recently, but it was bland and pretty forgettable. Check out my review here. 

The Game of Hope by Sandra Gulland 2 stars DNF I wanted to love this with all my heart. It follows the step-daughter of Napoleon Bonaparte. It should've been rife with intrigue, but it was boring and lacked life. The pages were dull and left a lot to be desired. I just couldn't connect and felt like if I continued I would've hated this with a passion. Check out my review here.

  

Recommend the Most:

The Lovely Bones because it is not at all like the movie and it will touch your heart in some way. I know reading about a murdered girl and her family dealing with tragedy afterwards sounds like a horrible way to spend your free time, but I promise it is worth it. This book is beautiful.

STATS:

Books Reviewed: 2
Books Rated Over 4 stars: 1
New Favorites: 1
Books That Changed My Life: 1
Owned: 2

 

Have you read any of these books? Are a fan of any of them or plan to pick any of these up? Let me know down below in the comments!

Salt by Hannah Moskowitz

Salt by Hannah Moskowitz

3.25 stars

“It’s different when a hunt’s starting. We’re not the kids who were just bickering at each other; we’re not brothers and sisters or orphans or people. We’re weapons.”

Indi and his siblings—Beleza, Oscar, and Zulu—have been hunting down monsters of the sea on their own since their parents went missing. As they sail around the Mediterranean and hunt down the monsters waiting for human prey, they are also looking for the parents and the possible monster that is responsible for their absence. Indi doesn’t want to hunt monsters. He longs for stability and for something more. It’s causing tensions to rise between he and his older sister, Beleza. Will Indi be able to escape the dangers of the sea before its too late? I love the concept of Salt. We follow orphaned sea-monster hunters. It’s like Supernatural in the Mediterranean and I was totally here for it. The concept is a lot of fun, but the execution is… forgettable. The writing isn’t spectacular and lacks greatly in world-building. You are just thrown into these grand monster battles with little to no context and I didn’t really feel immersed in the story. I didn’t really care why these kids were risking their lives to save humans who didn’t know any better because I wasn’t fearful enough of the monsters they were chasing. I didn’t believe they posed much of a threat because Moskowitz didn’t paint a world that need monster hunters to protect the seas. Moskowitz is a writer of simplicity which works well for a lot of stories, but not this one. I craved more complexity in character development and in world building.



Whimsical Writing Scale: 3.25

“Salt is in our blood.”

The main character is Indi. He’s an interesting character. He isn’t a captivating presence on the page and he is definitely one of those people who fades into the background, which is why I think it’s interesting that we follow his narrative. He is always quick to do the courageous thing in battle, but complain about it or fuss at Oscar for doing the same. He’s far too contradictory for me. I wasn’t necessarily bored by him, but I found it hard to root for him.



Swoon Worthy Scale: 2.25

The real star of this show is Indi’s older sister, Beleza. She’s a character I would have loved to follow. Her narrative would’ve been complex and dripping with a dichotomy of complexity—guilt, self-sacrifice, love for her family, obsession, and a thirst to save others. She was hands down the most interesting character Moskowitz has written in this novel. It’s a tragedy that it wasn’t from her POV.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 4

“My big sister is monster venom.”

I loved the family dynamic. I love following hunters who chase monsters as a family because it always makes the stakes higher. The stakes were high here because two of the hunters were young children, one being elementary school age. I really liked Oscar’s character and I thought it was a pity that because Indi dismissed him, he basically got little development besides having the delinquency of a potential pirate. I loved Zulu. She was absolutely adorable and a totally baddie. She is barely even able to read and she’s out there shooting arrows from a crossbow into a mile-long beast. That’s awesome. I wasn’t a fan of Indi’s love interest (?) who is more of a friend with benefit then roommate then lover who also has a boyfriend at the same time. I just wasn’t feeling her character, but it was cool that we met a lady pirate.


Character Scale: 3.5

I think Salt has the potential to excite a lot of Supernatural fans. It isn’t a bad novel and the concept is a treat and I believe is worth reading alone. This is a short novel and it is definitely not a waste of time. Overall, I think this novel has its fault, but it is endearing and has a fantastic family dynamic.


Plotastic Scale: 3.5

Cover Thoughts: This cover is gorgeous. The sail boat, the stars, the darkness of both the water and the sky. It’s mesmerizing.

Thank you, Netgalley and Chronicle Books, for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. 

 

Are you planning to read Salt? Who are some of your favorite monster hunters? Let me know down below in the comments!

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

4.75 stars

“The circus arrives without warning.”

The Night Circus follows a circus that travels in the night. Its colors are black and white and the magic inside is unlike anything you will ever see. There’s an illusionist whose illusions are more grounded in reality than they seem. A fortune teller whose tarot card readings prove true once you leave the curtains. A contortionist who can bend in ways that seem impossible for the human body. The thing is that Le Cirque des Rêves is as magical as it seems. It’s the structure for an epic tournament between two powerful magicians—Celia and Marco— and the impact that magic can have on those who invest in it of their own free will or just happenstance. The game must go on and it doesn’t care who it hurts, including the two young contestants who have fallen for one another. I read The Night Circus when it first came out years ago. I remember I was scrolling on Amazon and I saw this book in my recommended section. The cover was beautiful and mesmerizing. My mom gets Doubleday catalogues and when I saw this book inside, I begged her to buy it for me. I was so excited. I remember cracking it open and preparing myself for a sweeping love story steeped with magic. I got those things, but not in the way I desired them. If I’m being honest, this story was far too sophisticated for me when I was eleven-years-old. I knew in my heart that I would return to this story and give it another ago one day. It was something I knew in my bones and I believe that’s why this book made it through twenty unhauls and stayed tucked away on my shelf waiting to be picked up again. I think rereading books that you don’t always like, but have appreciation for is important and this is one of those instances where I’m proven right. I’m not discrediting my younger self’s opinion by any means because I was valid in my opinions. I do still think this book is confusing and at times it takes shuffling around to get everything sorted out. I, however, do love time jumps and stories told out of chronological order usually hold a dear place in my heart. So, that’s a huge change from my original opinions. My biggest problem, I remember, was the love story between Marco and Celia. It wasn’t nearly dramatic enough for little ole me, but oh did this romance tug on my heart. It’s quiet and stunning. It creeps up slowly and then the little comments of endearment become comments with intention and love behind them. My heart was squealing and I just felt fluttery. There was something there in this quiet, slow-burning passion that ignited my heart to ship these two people.



Morgenstern’s writing is exquisite and magical. There are no other words for me at this moment than utter astonishment. The Cirque des Rêves has become a place I want to get lost in. I want to wander under the Labyrinth, cause mischief with Poppet and Widget, gorge on delights, and see the spectacle unfold. The different points of view was a brilliant way to show that this dual severely impacted countless of lives over decades. It was more than just a game. My heart races at thinking how well-crafted each chapter was. Amidst the countless POVs we have these small little second person passages that walk you through the circus and I loved it. It was so brilliant. It was like walking into rooms and seeing another level of the story unfolding. The writing is truly a labor of love and I’m betting money that Morgenstern is an illusionist whose skill is in words.


I also listened to the audiobook by Jim Dale. Jim Dale is the same man who narrated the HP series. He is FANTASTIC. The voices and the atmosphere of his tone illicit a whimsical and dark presence that made feel as if I was entering the circus at all times.


Whimsical Writing Scale: 5

Narration Scale: 5



Celia is an interesting character. Her childhood is depressing. She was groomed and basically tortured into becoming a stronger magician by her father. She is quite strong in both magic and in heart. She runs the circus and is its heartbeat. She isn’t a favorite character for me, but there is something about her that I really love.



Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 4.5

Marco is a bit more complex. I kind of want to hate him because he led Isabel on for so long while being in love with Celia. He wasn’t with Isabel at the time, but he didn’t tell her that he didn’t feel the same way. It caused unnecessary drama. I do like Marco though. Besides that one major flaw. He is kind and noble. Not a favorite and not the dreamiest of men, but he’s a good man who just made a bad mistake that lead to people dying.



Swoon Worthy Scale: 4

The Villain- I’ve always seen Prospero and Mr. H as the villains. They have created countless duels that have wrecked peoples lives and they go to great lengths to keep this game alive. The game itself is a beast of its own. Magic is a deadly thing when pacts are made.


Villain Scale: 5

Oh, the characters. There are so many and I love them all. Widget and Poppet are my favorite. Especially Poppet who can read the future in the stars. Bailey, a young boy destined to be a shepherd who loves the circus, was a character I didn’t like when I first read this, but this time around he stole my heart. He reminds me of King David (yes, that David). He was a shepherd destined for more, but in this case, he just happened to be in the right place and was chosen. Tsukiko is also a character I originally wasn’t sure about, but as an adult I see this incredibly woman who has been broken by the game. Isobel is a character that I pity. I like her, but she is so tied to her love for Marco that I have trouble differentiating her outside of that. I wish that she would’ve bee more than just the girl who loved Marco and read tarot cards. I loved Chandresh. He was always there and he seemed to be incredibly mischievous and insightful to the circus and its going-ons. Friedrick Thiessen also hurt my heart. He’s a brilliant clock maker who is a rêver, someone dedicated to following the circus, and he’s so sweet. He’s that nice guy who you want only good things to happen to, but ends up meeting a tragic end. These characters stole my heart this time around in a way that they hadn’t before. They made this story for me.



Character Scale: 5

Revisiting The Night Circus was something I was bound to eventually do, but I didn’t know I’d be encountering it as an audiobook. I think that is what made me fall so head over heels with this story a second time. It has its faults and there are times in the middle where it lagged and the pacing is slow because the dual its takes decades to unravel, but I appreciated it in a way I hadn’t years ago. Overall, I have been on the meh-side and the fan-side of this novel, but I think I’m more of a fan this time around. I’ll be keeping my copy of this novel on my shelf and I think it’ll be something I return to again one day. This reread was a success because my mind changed, but also because I fell in love with storytelling again.



Plotastic Scale: 5

Cover Thoughts: This is one of my all-time favorite covers. All of the covers for this book are spectacular, but the clock and the circus in the hand is so symbolic and I just adore it.

Have you read The Night Circus? Which side are you in- love or hate?  What was your favorite part of Le Cirque des Rêves? What are some of your favorite dark fantasy novels? Let me know down below in the comments!

Books I've Read in 2018 #32-36

 

Hey, everyone! It's been forever since I sat down a filmed a video talking about books. I missed it and I got to film a couple today. So, here's one of the ones that I was able to film today. I forgot how fun it was to just make videos and discuss books. I love the process of it so much!

THE BOOKS:

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter 5 stars This is dark, gritty, gruesome, and at times disgusting. I absolutely loved it and I think it may be all-time favorite suspense/psychological thriller. 

Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes by Karin Slaughter 3.25 stars This is the prequel novella to Pretty Girls and it's depressing because we follow the sister that ends up going missing from the novel. It's heartbreaking, but not as gripping as the novel it's tied to.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan 4 stars This is fun and I see why it's so beloved. I enjoyed it for what it is, but I don't think it's a groundbreaking novel. I did enjoy the Greek mythology and I think it's a well-done integration into the story.

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku by Fujita DNF @ page 53 (1 star) I wasn't a fan. The idea was cheesy and cute, but not cute enough or cheesy enough to win me over. Check out my review here.

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut 4.5 stars I haven't read a Vonnegut since high school, but this reminded me that I still love him. He's a satirist and this is hysterical dark comedy at its finest. I can't tell you what it's about because it would probably spoil everything. Just know it has Eliot Rosewater (yes, the one from Slaughterhouse-Five) and Kilgore Trout.

Recommend the Most:

Pretty Girls is the best of this bunch and it's one of the best novels I read this year. It is definitely more the reader who likes darker plots, characters, and can handle gory situations. Slaughter is one of my new favorite authors and I'm going to kindly shove this down your throat (which is not a pun, I promise).

STATS:

Books Reviewed: 1
Books Rated Over 4 stars: 2
New Favorites: 1
Books That Changed My Life: 1
Owned: 2

 

Have you read any of these books? Which ones are you most interested in? Are you a Karin Slaughter fan? Let me know down below in the comments!

Newborn on Her Doorstep: Harlequin Manga by Ellie Darkins & Yuki Mizusawa

Newborn on Her Doorstep: Harlequin Manga by Ellie Darkins & Yuki Mizusawa

3 stars

Lily wakes up to find a newborn on her doorstep one morning and her world changes. Her best friend’s brother shows up and a romance ensues. The plot obviously isn’t the most sophisticated, but this is a Harlequin romance turned into a manga, so it provides exactly what it promises. I was a little thrown off because the reader is just thrown into the story and things are just going, going, gone and the pacing is incredibly fast (too fast for a romance, in my opinion). The writing isn’t gripping, but the story is cute enough to fly through. I really like the art style because it’s your typical shojo manga.


Whimsical Writing Scale: 3

Art Scale: 4

Lily is the main female character and I really liked her. She’s level-headed most of the time and she was all for communication and overcoming hardships, which I was all for and then she decided to run away. I still liked her despite this annoying change of character.



Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 3.25

Nic is rich and handsome plus he has a heart for saving children from unfair working environments. He also takes Lily to fancy restaurants despite her having a baby, a trip to Rome, and being romantic as all get out. He checked all the boxes for swoony and while I wasn’t head over heels for him, I was definitely rooting for him.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 3

Kate, the friend of the heroine and brother of the hero, cracks me up. I aspire to be as meddlesome in people’s lives as her. I’m also obsessed with babies in manga and anime because they always look so freaking adorable. Obviously, Rosie was the highlight of the whole story.


Character Scale: 3

Overall, this story is cute. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the manga and the story, but it was a nice little thirty minute read and it gave me some feels. My inner romantic was fed by cuteness and babies. I think this is something worth checking out if you want to fill your stomach with cheese.


Plotastic Scale: 2

Cover Thoughts: It’s cute. Not amazing, but I do love the yellow flowers and the pink together.

Thank you, Netgalley and Harlequin, for providing me with a copy of this manga in exchange for an honest review.

Are you interested in the Harlequin Mangas? What are some of your favorite manga and anime with swoony romances that can give me feels? I want some recommendations, please! Let me know in the comments down below!