Review: Life and Death by Stephenie Meyer

Life and Death

Stephenie Meyer

(Twilight #1.75)

Publication Date: November 1, 2016

Paperback, 400 pages, Little, Brown Books

Genres: YA, Paranormal

Goodreads

For the first time in a stand-alone paperback comes Stephenie Meyer's Life and Death, a compelling reimagining of the iconic love story that will surprise and enthrall readers.

There are two sides to every story....

You know Bella and Edward, now get to know Beau and Edythe.

When Beaufort Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious, alluring Edythe Cullen, his life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. With her porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edythe is both irresistible and enigmatic.

What Beau doesn't realize is the closer he gets to her, the more he is putting himself and those around him at risk. And, it might be too late to turn back....

My Review 

I have been super into Twilight lately. I guess it’s because Midnight Sun was just released, and I’m feeling nostalgic for my simple high school days, especially with everything going on in the world. It’s been easy to dive back into this fascinating world. Oh, and this review basically assumes you’ve read Twilight. If you haven’t, well, that’s odd. Read it.

Honestly, the idea of flipping the typical paranormal romance trope on its head by having the mysterious vampire/werewolf/warlock be female versus male is so appealing to me. I’m tired of reading about possessive males. I want some possessive females goshdarnit. Stephenie Meyer kind of gave me that, though I really wanted more from the concept of male Bella and a female Edward. My favorite scenes were actually the ones that were different from the original Twilight, like Beau having to ride on Edythe’s back and feeling like a gorilla since he’s so much taller than her. More scenes breaking down conceptions of masculinity in relationships would’ve really been fun to explore. (Thankfully fanfiction has kind of done this, so I’ve been slating that thirst through those means.)

Personally, I think the only sexes that should’ve been changed in this story are the three main characters: Edward/Edythe, Bella/Beau, and Jacob/Julie. While I enjoyed some of the cool new names (Royal was my favorite name in the book), sometimes the sex changes for the non-important or side characters were just confusing. Like, why did the school nurse’s sex need changed? Or the bad vampires? Or the teachers? It just seemed like wasted effort on Meyer’s part when she could’ve focused more on those masculinity conceptions instead.

This book has inspired many ideas from me, and I’m super glad Meyer wrote it, but truly, it’s just a copy/paste of the first 90% of Twilight with very minor differences. I wish there’d been more changes in voice from Bella to Beau. Also, the ending was uber rushed. I very much liked that it was different from the original, but HOLY COW was it crazy fast. Another 25 pages to flush everything out wouldn’t have killed Meyer to write.

All in all, I enjoyed this one for personal reasons, but I can understand why some would find it a money grab. To me, it was fun, and I would love to get a sequel. I know it’ll never happen, but it would be cool. I guess I’ll just have to settle for the two unofficially announced books Meyer has mentioned writing in the Twilight-verse. I’m crossing my fingers for a Rosalie/Emmett book or a Leah spinoff. Let me know what you’d like to see in a new Twilight book!

*Note: I purchased a copy of this book myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.

Review: The Novice by Taran Matharu

The Novice

Taran Matharu

(Summoner #1)

Publication Date: May 5, 2015

Hardcover, 355 pages, Feiwel & Friends

Genres: YA, Fantasy

B&N | Book Depository | Amazon | Goodreads

When blacksmith apprentice Fletcher discovers that he has the ability to summon demons from another world, he travels to Adept Military Academy. There the gifted are trained in the art of summoning. Fletcher is put through grueling training as a battlemage to fight in the Hominum Empire’s war against orcs. He must tread carefully while training alongside children of powerful nobles. The power hungry, those seeking alliances, and the fear of betrayal surround him. Fletcher finds himself caught in the middle of powerful forces, with only his demon Ignatius for help.

As the pieces on the board maneuver for supremacy, Fletcher must decide where his loyalties lie. The fate of an empire is in his hands. The Novice is the first in a trilogy about Fletcher, his demon Ignatius, and the war against the Orcs.

My Review

If you’re missing Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, or Hiccup and Toothless, Taran Matharu’s The Novice, might be a good next read for you. It has a unique, bullied protagonist, a fantasy school, and mythical creatures. It’s everything 11–13-year-olds like to read about in one book.

Fletcher is our picked-on main character, who, through a series of unfortunate events, gets the chance to attend a school for summoning demons. Which apparently isn’t as evil as it sounds. Fletcher makes unlikely friends and gets into a lot of mischief (a la Harry Potter style). But other than his unique situation and friends, there’s really nothing all that extraordinary about Fletcher’s voice, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your reading preferences. If you like when the underdog wins, go into this one full throttle (not that the underdog necessarily wins).

As for the plot of the book, it was interesting. The school idea was fun, and I never really knew where the plot was going, as there were many surprising twists and turns. I just didn’t expect this book to be so politically based. (And no, I don’t mean it touches on current politics.) The antagonists are very politically and economically motivated, whereas I was expecting more action and adventure for our protagonist to respond to.  It’s part of the reason I knocked the book down a star rating.

The other reason I knocked it down involves the dialogue. It was very tell and less show. I often wondered why certain characters would just spill their life stories and secrets out to Fletcher. It was a little odd, and often made for some long-winded paragraphs. But, despite my two main critiques, this book did provide a fun, entertaining read. (Plus, I recently finished reading the sequel, and the two main issues I have with this book are not as much of an issue in books two and three.)

Like I said, this book is definitely for fans of Harry Potter, How to Train Your Dragon, and Percy Jackson. It’s got all of the same key elements with some fun twists of its own along the way.

Review: Illuminae by Jay Kristoff & Amie Kaufman

Illuminae

Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

(The Illuminae Files #1)

Publication Date: October 20, 2015

Hardcover, 602 pages, Knopf Books

Genres: YA, Sci-fi

B&N | Book Depository | Amazon | Goodreads

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

BRIEFING NOTE: Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

My Review

Oh gosh. I don’t know where to start with this review. I feel like everyone and their brother loved this book, and I just thought it was okay… I mean, is there anyone else out there who didn’t love this book? Please identify yourself. I don’t want to be alone.

Okay, so I’ll stop being weird now. I just was a tad disappointed in this book. The reason I say a tad and not a lot is because I knew going in that I probably wouldn’t love it. I just don’t like epistolary-style writing in science fiction. Actually, the only other time I’ve read that style (the mix of emails, letters, etc. as the narrative of a story versus the typical chapter by chapter) is in Meg Cabot’s Boy series. I really enjoyed it in Cabot’s books, but that was a contemporary romance, not a sci-fi with intricate plot points.

What I didn’t expect, though, was for the plot to be a less captivating version of Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey. Now, I haven’t read the book series, but I’ve watched the TV show, The Expanse, and it is fantabulous! But, Illuminae was eerily similar. Normally, that would be okay. I would typically be able to enjoy both without thinking too much of it, but the writing style of Illuminae just killed it for me. Sure, it’s a fast read despite being 600 pages long, but I couldn’t connect to the characters on an emotional level. I also didn’t find the plot as engaging, even when there were major twists and turns happening.

I also thought some of the language use was a little weird. I don’t want to spoil anything, but a certain “character” got a little lyrical and melodramatic, which I find strange due to the “character’s” background.

HOWEVER, despite how much I’m downing this book, I did find myself curious as to what happens in the sequels. I might pick Gemina and Obsidio up at a later date. Now, though, I have no plans to immediately go out and buy the other books in the series. They’re just not a priority. Another plus for this book is, like I mentioned, it’s a quick read. I think if someone was in a reading slump and they liked sci-fi books, this one would be a good one to try. I think I finished Illuminae in something like four days, and I wasn’t even super invested in it.

Back to why I want to read the sequels, the reason I was curious about what’s going to happen next has to do with the ending. The last few pages were very impactful. I just wish some of that impact had been in the beginning and middle of the book as well. And maybe it is or will be for other readers. Maybe I just was comparing The Expanse and this book too much.

All in all, I think if you go into Illuminae knowing how the writing style plays out and recognizing that the hype may just be a little too up there, then you could probably enjoy this book. It’s got a good story with some elements of shock value, and its short word count makes it a quick read.

*Note: I borrowed a copy of this book from my library. This in no way affected my opinion/review.

My 2015 Year in Review According to Goodreads

So I recently (as in a few weeks ago) discovered Goodreads’ new year-in-review feature where it shows you your year in books. I don’t know if Goodreads had this set up for the last few years and I’m just now discovering it or if this is totally new, but I am digging it.

According to Goodreads, I’ve read a total of 32,165 pages! That’s a lot of pages! I’m sure there are people out there who have read more than that this year (Heck, I used to be one of those people who could read 150+ books per year), but I felt like a book-reading failure this year, so that page number and those 102 books make me feel very proud.

Ha! So my shortest book isn’t really a book—it’s a novella. Big surprise. What is surprising is that this wasn’t one of the novellas I was reading to further my Goodreads goal. I think I just read this book randomly. As for the longest book, up until a few days ago, my longest read was actually Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas, but I snuck Winter in at the last moment. And boy is that thing hefty!

Oh, and apparently those novellas I crammed in there didn’t mess with the average length of the books I’ve read this year, because 322 pages per book (on average) is fairly normal. I guess I read some longer books this year to balance everything out.

I’m super surprised that Pride and Prejudice has been read by over two million people! I mean, I know it’s popular. It’s a classic. But two million! In comparison to my least popular read, that’s an insane difference.

My Average Rating on Goodreads is actually a lot higher than I thought it would be. I feel like I’m constantly giving books negative reviews, but I guess I’m really not. Weird. And the highest rated book I’ve read, Queen of Shadows, is definitely not the highest rated by me. I think I gave Queen of Shadows four stars? Maybe 3.5? I’m not sure.  

All in all, it’s been a pretty good reading year. I’m excited to see what awesome adventures 2016 brings! 

Oh, and let me know how your 2015 reading year went in the comments.

My Top 5 Disappointing Reads of 2015

It’s the end of the year, which means I’ve read a lot of books. Some were good. Some were bad. And some were just disappointing for reasons I will explain. That’s where this post comes in.

For this post, I will simply be giving you exactly what the title says: My Top 5 Disappointing Reads of 2015. Now, these won’t necessarily be 2015 releases; they’re just books I’ve read in 2015. Oh, and I know 2015 isn’t over yet, but I don’t plan on reading any terribly disappointing books in the next week or so.

I decided to only do five books because I only had six that I even considered for this post, so narrowing it down to five was just easier.

Oh, and I have to clarify before I get started that these books are not necessarily terrible books, they just didn’t live up to my expectations.

Now, onto the Top 5!

Splintered by A.G. Howard

I had been hearing good things about this book since it was released, but I never managed to get my hands on it. When I finally did, I was hoping for a unique and magical book that reflected the unique and magical cover. Unfortunately, it was mostly a weird read, not a magical, fantastical one.

To better understand why this book made it onto this list, check out my review.

Half Bad by Sally Green

This was another one that I’d been hearing nothing but good things about. Everyone sounded so thrilled about this unique, magical world and the characterization of the main character, but I thought this book was a hot mess. The main reason I was excited to read this was because it had elements of an male-male relationship. In a paranormal young adult mass-published book series, this is rare. However, the potential lover character didn’t even show up until the last part of the book. I don’t plan on picking up the sequel to this series unless I get ahold of the book for very, very cheap.

To better understand why this book made it onto this list, check out my review.

Death Marked by Leah Cypess

I LOVED the first book in this duology. Death Sworn was ridiculously good. It even made it onto my Top 10 list of 2014. But this book, it just fizzled out. The world development didn’t continue and the characters completely changed from strong, interesting individuals to weak and indecisive blahs. And the new characters who were introduced just weren’t as compelling as the original ones.

To better understand why this book made it onto this list, check out my review.

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

This is another duology that just fizzled out. This one mainly had to do with one specific aspect, though: the sex tape aspect. Now, that’s not exactly what goes down in this story, but it’s close, and let me just say, I LOATHE sex tape stories. It seems like they’re everywhere in YA and there’s so much slut-shaming that it makes me sick. So, while I liked who Lara Jean ended up with, the actual storyline of this book had me very upset.

To better understand why this book made it onto this list, check out my review.

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

This is the one that I’m devastated about. This book was supposed to blow me away and break so many fantasy-story boundaries, but it severely disappointed me. The romantic relationship wasn’t as emotionally investing as in Rainbow’s other books and the characters weren’t as lovable as I hoped they’d be. I wrote a huge discussion over my thoughts (I didn’t call it a review for reasons I explained in the post) that you should check out if you want to know more.

To better understand why this book made it onto this list, check out my discussion.

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Well, there you have it. Those are the most disappointing books I read in 2015. Of course, these are just my opinions, so feel free to disagree. If you do disagree, or if you have other books you’d like to mention, feel free to do so in the comments!

My Christmas Haul

As most everyone knows, it was Christmas a couple of days ago, and since Christmas was on a Friday and I was busy all day, I didn’t post my Christmas haul on Saturday with my Stacking the Shelves pics. Instead, I’m going to post them today, so you guys don’t have to wait to see it.

There was only one single book in this haul, plus two box sets: The Blood of Olympus and the new editions of The Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments series.

I also got three Funko Pop!s: Katniss, Peeta, and Castiel. The other stuff includes (from left to right): a Supernatural “My Fandom is Better Than Your Fandom” t-shirt, a purple tool-kit, Aladdin on DVD, a Kohl’s and a Victoria Secret gift card, and some chocolate.

All in all, Christmas yielded a pretty good haul this year. My mom also said she got me something else, but I’ll wait to share that in another post.

Let me know what goodies you got for Christmas. And if you don’t celebrate Christmas, what goodies did you get this week?

My Top 5 Covers of 2015

It’s that time of year again. The time I round up all of the books and decide which covers really stood out and which ones had me in a state of awe.

Unfortunately, 2015 hasn’t been the greatest year for me—cover-wise. I haven’t been too terribly impressed with some of the designs. I think it’s because a lot of publishers are moving away from cover models and more to inanimate objects, but I like the cover models better.

So, for this post, I will simply be giving you exactly what the title says: My Top 5 Covers of 2015. These are all 2015 releases. Also, I may not have read the book yet, so please don’t spoil anything in the comments. Thanks!

I decided to only do five books because there aren’t a lot of 2015 releases that had my eyes going “Oooooo,” so narrowing it down to five was just easier. I do have some honorable mentions to name, though. The two book covers that came so very close to being in my Top 5 are, in no particular order, Frozen Tides by Morgan Rhodes and Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas.

Now, onto the real Top 5!

Death Marked by Leah Cypess

Like I said, normally I don’t like the inanimate object on the book cover, but this tower/castle building thing is so beautiful. And that purply-pink color is gorgeous. I love this one more than the first book’s cover, and that one was pretty too. I also love how the soft pink color is mixed in with the grays. It gives the book an earthy feel, but it’s still magical. Plus, I really like the typeface choice for the title. I’m not a huge fan of the covers with just large typography on them. I like something else to feast my eyes on, so this title font suits me well.

Check out my review of the book.

Reborn by Jennifer Rush

It’s hard to find a book with a boy cover model on it. I think the only genre that really has this is contemporary YA, and most of the time there’s a girl in the picture, too. I like that the books in this series have boys on the covers, simply because those boys are a central part of the story. Now, their shirtless state is just an added bonus. Although, the second book’s cover had a really young looking boy on it. I didn’t find that appealing. But the gray-scaled background with that amazing blue color behind the font is just beautiful (the other books have orange and green and are just as pretty).

Check out my review of the book.

A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas

I haven’t read this book, nor do I own it, so I don’t know if it’s as pretty in person as it is on my screen, but I’m betting it is. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the background and the way the cover model is positioned. She’s mimicking Sleeping Beauty’s position, without actually being prone and lifeless. I also really like the dress she’s wearing. I think I have a weakness for book’s with cover models in white dresses (*cough* The One by Kiera Cass *cough*). And the gold lettering really stands out against the cover image, without detracting from it.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Okay, I think it’s obvious why I had to put this cover on my list. This thing is so fantastically lovely. The silver and the red and white with the black lettering. I swear I have a drooling fit every time I look at it. You would think an upside-down crown all by itself wouldn’t cause so much cover lust, but it does. It just does.

Check out my review of the book.

Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Yes. This is it. My #1 cover of 2015. Why? Because it’s gorgeous. It’s light purple and dark purple and more purple! I love purple, just in case you hadn’t noticed. I mean, I’m sure it’s not obvious with my blog being the color it is, or anything. I have to admit that I didn’t really see the appeal of the first two books’ covers, but this one. This one is just begging me to pet it. A lot.

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I almost forgot, I have one more cover to share with you. This is the cover that I believe to be the worst of 2015.

Every Last Breath by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I don’t think this one would have been so bad if it hadn’t been for the fact that I actually really liked the first two books’ covers. When Harlequin Teen announced the cover change, I think I died a little inside. I’ve seen a fan-made version on Goodreads and it looks so beautiful. Right now, this book looks so plain and blah, and that is definitely not what the inside of the book is like.

I really hope another cover change for all three books happens sometime in the future—a better one.

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Well, there you have it. Those are the best book covers of 2015. Of course, these are just my opinions (but they’re the right opinions. Jk. Mostly.), so feel free to disagree. If you do disagree, or if you have other covers you’d like to share some love for, feel free to do so in the comments! I love seeing beautiful book covers!