Spring 2013

Spring is here, and I am thrilled. There's only a few weeks of school left, and then three months off! I'm pretty sure I'll be breaking my record of books read over summer break, because Goodreads has helped me   put over 100 books on my to-read list. I don't even know which one to start first! Even right now, I'm alternating between Inbetween and Walking Disaster. I seriously can't make up my mind.

This has nothing to do with books, but it's how I spent this beautiful, beautiful day.

I love Chicago.

Best city ever.

Partials

Partials By: Dan Wells
The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials--engineered organic beings identical to humans--has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out. Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic-in-training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws have pushed what's left of humanity to the brink of civil war, and she's not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will find that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them--connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.
This book looks awesome, right? The cover, the description. Awesome. I'm really happy I read Partials. It was a lot like The Terminator, only there was also a disease and no time traveling. The surviving members of the war with the partials are living on Long Island, surviving only because the partials decided to leave them alone. Even though RM didn't kill the surviving humans, it has made them unable to have kids. Every newborn dies within days, making the extinction of the human race seem inevitable.  Does it seem like I'm giving out spoilers? I'm not. You learn the majority of this in the first chapter or so.  This story contains a lot of interesting ideas. I just got frustrated, because Dan Wells spelled everything out as if the readers were idiots. You learn everything that's going on in the world when Kira and her friends sit in a circle and just talk and talk and talk about it. It seems extremely pointless, as they're all a bunch of teenagers with no actual power. It's like how during the presidential election, everyone suddenly thinks they know everything about politics. Kira and her friends were those people. Half of them are soldiers, half medics. But they think they know everything. They're huge conspiracy theorists, and I just wanted to tell them (Especially Haru. Gosh I hated him) to kindly shut the hell up. I'm not saying the conspiracies were or were not right. I'll let you figure that out for yourself. I'm just saying they had no actual basis for anything they were talking about. They jumped the gun constantly, especially when soldiers questioned her adoptive mother, Nandita, about where she travels when she leaves long island. "That's none of your buisness," said Kira... "You think you can just barge into someone's front yard and ask anything you want? What if she went somewhere you don't like -- are you going to arrest her?" "Nobody is talking about arrest," said the soldier. "We're just asking questions. Calm down." "Just asking questions," said Kira. "Well, what if she refuses to answer?" (starting on page 99)  And then the soldiers tell her off, saying they're just doing their jobs trying to protect the city, which is more important than "wasting" her time. Kira responds vulgarly, which made me cover my face in embarrassment.  I'm pretty sure if one of my friends ever did something so obnoxious next to me, I would die of humiliation. To be fair, Nandita tells her she was wrong as well, and Kira admits she probably overreacted. But it's just a great example of how Kira and her friends jump to conclusions about things with no actual knowledge. It was extremely frustrating. There's something else that I'm not quite sure I love or hate. Dan Wells is not afraid to kill people off. In fact, I don't remember the last time I read a book where so many characters died. This was cool, because I think there are times when a character should die. You read a book and just think, "yeah right, like they would have survived that". I mean, would Lord of the Rings have been so good if Boromir had lived? Maybe. But I like to think it was necessary for certain character and plot development. I just hated how the characters died so easily. I mean, it was no big deal. So-and-so died, whatever, move on. I was somewhat annoyed with it during the first few deaths, but when Wells killed off the only character I truly liked, as if it was nothing, I was beyond frustrated. When a main character dies, it's supposed to be a big deal. People are supposed to be pissed when that happens. They should be crippled in grief. They should fight back as their hearts broke. Whatever. They should not shrug it off. Even if you know they died for a good cause, it's still supposed to matter! Yet even with these complaints, I still thought the book was pretty good. I still went looking for Fragments, the sequel, right away. I'm insanely curious about certain things, and want the answers a.s.a.p. I definitely recommend it.

Unbroken

Unbroken By: Melody Grace
"Mom always told me there are two kinds of love in this world: the steady breeze, and the hurricane. Emerson Ray was my hurricane...." Juliet McKenzie was an innocent eighteen-year old when she spent the summer in Cedar Cove—and fell head over heels in love with Emerson. Complicated, intense Emerson, the local bad boy. His blue eyes hid dark secrets, and just one touch could set Juliet ablaze. Their love was demanding and all-consuming, but when summer ended, tragedy tore them apart. Juliet swore she’d never go back, and she’s kept that promise… Until now. Four years later, Juliet’s done her best to rebuild the wreckage of her shattered life. She’s got a great boyfriend, and a steady job planned after she graduates. Returning to Cedar Cove to pack up her family’s beach house to prepare it for sale, Juliet is determined that nothing will stand in the way of her future. But one look from Emerson, and all her old desire comes flooding back. He let her go once, but this time, he’s not giving up without a fight. And Emerson fights dirty. A heartbreaking history. An unstoppable passion. Torn between her past and future, Juliet struggles to separate love from desire. But will they find a way to overcome their tragic secrets—together? And after so much damage has been done, can a love remain unbroken?
I heard really great things about this book, and started reading it immediately after seeing it on Goodreads. In fact, I put another book on hold because I was so excited about it. I'm kind of disappointed. I think this book could have been pretty great, if only there was more about Emerson and Juliet actually falling in love. I hate when I read a book and it's all, "Years ago they were in love but a misunderstanding drove them apar, but believe me: They were epic. Toooootally in love. Take my word for it." I don't want to take the authors word for it. I want to read about the couple first meeting (which was in the book, via flashback). I want to experience them falling in love (not in the book). I want to root for the couple, then feel heartbroken when they break up. And I want to stay up hours after I should have gone to bed, reading and waiting for them to finally realize they should be together. I just didn't care about Juliet and Emerson, though. Yeah, Emerson was painted as a total hottie. But if Juliet ended up with him or her boyfriend, I probably would have cared the exact same amount. Which, sadly, wasn't much. I hear Melody Grace is releasing another book, Untouched, which will be the prequel to Unbroken. That will be Juliet and Emerson falling in love. But why make it two books? Why not one great one, instead of two decent ones? Maybe when Untouched comes out, I'll read Unbroken again right after it. Until then, two stars.

The Iron King

The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1) By: Julie Kagawa
Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined. Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home. When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change. But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart
I remember seeing this book in stores when it first came out. I thought it sounded awesome, but for some reason never bought it or got it from the library. I kind of forgot about it until I came across the series at the library a few weeks ago. I liked the book. I'm into the fae/fey theme, especially after reading the Fever series. That doesn't mean the two series are anything alike, because they aren't. This series is aimed at teens, which no longer includes me. Fever would most definitely be rated R, no doubt about it. I respect how Kagawa created this whole new world. Writing fiction is hard, especially when you've creating a new world to go with it. Yes, Puck and a few characters are based off A Midsummer Night's Dream. Still, Kagawa must have done an insane amount of research and organizing. Yet I found myself getting annoyed, sometimes. I don't know how every mythical creature is supposed to look. I felt more description was needed in multiple parts of the book. Of course, a big part of this series is the whole Team Puck vs. Team Ash. I don't even know. I was Team Puck from the beginning. What did people see in Ash that I missed? Is it because some girls are into the bad boy? Because in the majority of this book, I just didn't find him likable. I mean, let's take a look: Meghan: You tried to kill me! Ash: ...you just happened to be there. But yes, if I'd had the shot, I would have taken it. And let's not forget: Meghan: What will happen then? Ash: I'll kill you. And this is within the first ten minutes of meeting him. Call me crazy, but I don't find death threats attractive. I also thought the whole Meghan and SOMEONE falling in love was just incredibly fast. It felt more like Kagawa said they had fallen in love, and that was it. But I didn't see it. I thought the relationship was incredibly shallow. Now, because this book is the first in a series, I feel I have to mention the others as well. But don't worry, I'm not going to spoil anything. I'm just going to say, I'm glad them. Book two was meh, but I really think book three made the series worth it. (Even if book four was forced and I kind of hated it). Three and a half stars.

Veronica Mars

I was the BIGGEST fan of Veronica Mars. I have every season, and I'm so so so so excited because guess what I just heard?

THEY'RE MAKING A VERONICA MARS MOVIE!!!

I've also discovered an extreme love of GIF's, if you haven't noticed. So I've searched and searched, and below are some of my favorite Veronica Mars moments :) Oh, and yes, I do notice how often Logan is present ;)

Book Memes #1

HOW I FEEL WHENEVER I READ A PAGE MENTIONING BARRONS OR RYODAN

HOW I FEEL WHEN PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT A BOOK I HAVENT READ YET

ME AT THE END OF EVERNEATH. FOR LIKE A MONTH.

OH, AND:

ICED

HOW I FEEL WHEN I READ A ROMANCE NOVEL, AND I TRY TO WRITE A REVIEW ABOUT IT.

HOW I FEEL WHEN A BOOK/MOVIE/TV SHOW ABOUT VAMPIRES COMES OUT.

HOW I FEEL WHEN I READ A REALLY GREAT BOOK AND THEN FIND OUT THERE'S A SEQUEL.

Review on the Fever Series, Books 1-5

Review on the Fever Series, Books 1-5

For the description of these books, click here.

I decided to review the first five books as one, because that's how I read them. Instead of five separate books it was like one HUGE book. Especially considering the length book five.

I really loved this series. But I feel like the time of vampires is over, and the time of Fae has begun. There's The Iron Fey series, the Wings series, or many other books. And now there's Fever. (I don't mean to say that as if they're just being published, I mean they're popularity has skyrocketed) I hope this isn't coming off as if I'm sick of the whole Fae thing, because I'm really not. Yes, I read Twilight, but no, I never got into that vampire phase. Anyone that drinks blood is gross. It's not sexy at all, and you will never convince me otherwise. 

I love the Fae trend. Each of the previously mentioned series about Fae have really held something unique, whether it's what they call their home (Nevernever, Faery, Avalon) or what the Fae are like. In Fever, the Unseelie are gross and huge douchebags. When you first start reading the books Mac makes it seem like the Seelie are just as bad, but I completely disagree with that. Yeah, the Seelie are bigots but they've been alive forever. It's natural they know more than we would, so is it really surprising that they look at humans in the way high school seniors look at the freshmen? Not really. If it wasn't for the sex glamour V'lane used when you're first introduced, I would like them just fine.

I love the way each character is portrayed as if you, the reader, really don't know who to trust. You're right in their with Mac trying to figure stuff out. I also think the character development of Mac throughout the series is just amazing. She starts as a somewhat shallow young woman, and every bad thing that happens leads you to Mac 2.0, 3.0, 4.0...It's really interesting and gradual, so gradual it's hard to notice.

Barrons character seemed so real, so magnetic. I looked forward to every encounter with him, and was incredibly curious about his history. I have to admit, it was Barrons that interested me the most. You just learn so little about him in each book, and I was soooo tempted to just google him and read some spoilers. 

Honestly, I don't want to say anything else because I loved learning every detail in this story line.  I love this book series. Read it.

I give it five stars.