Review: Lips Touch: Three Times

Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor

My rating:

5 of 5 stars

This book was a beautiful surprise. Everything was beautiful in it. Writing, characters, plot... everything. All three stories—Goblin Fruit, Spicy Little Curses Such As These and Hatchling—in this pretty book were wonderful. I'm in love with it.

The three stories involved a kiss—hence the title—that would mean something important (in a soul level) to the kisser.

The first one—Goblin Fruit—is the shortest of the three. It's about how Goblin lure young girls. A long time ago, they did it by offering the girls tasteful fruits, but now, what are their new “fruits”? And is Kizzy (the heroine in this story) going to yield?

Spicy Little Curses Such As These revolves around a girl with a curse—her voice kills anyone who listens to it. Matters get complicated when she falls in love and her lover wants her to speak. This one had a fairy-tale feel into it. Of all the stories, this one was the one I enjoyed the less... but calm down, I really liked, believe it or not.

And the last one, and also the longest one,—Hatchling—starts when a girl's left eye changes from brown to pale blue just like that. Her mother is worried about her and she feels something is wrong. What is it and is she in danger? This one was my favorite.

Even the artwork in this book is beautiful! It's filled with many amazing illustrations that not only are they good companions to the stories but also great works of art. And do you know who did them? It was Laini's husband. What a team, isn't it?

The writing is beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. I think I've overused that word in just one review, but who cares?

And now, before finishing, let me rant about something. But first, let's look at the blurb for this book: In the style of Stephenie Meyer, three tales of supernatural love that all hinge on a life-changing kiss.

Listen, I read Twilight last year, and in my opinion, there are no books more opposite than these two. No, just no. If you fear this is a Twilight fanfiction, then stop your worries. They are not similar at all. And please, don't ever compare a work of art with such an atrocity as Twilight is. Please and thank you. You think you're attracting readers? No. You repel them.

I may not have liked Daughter of Smoke And Bone a lot, but I fell in love with this book. You wish to read a book in which you can clearly see that the author put a lot of his/herself in it? Then read this. You will surely enjoy it. My only complaint is that it was too short and it all ended too fast.

Now, excuse me while I kiss this book and wait for the atrocious consequence that follows.

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Review: Daughter of Smoke & Bone

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

My rating:

3.5 of 5 stars

"Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well."

I went to this book with ridiculously high expectations. Everyone I follow seems to love this book. There are few exceptions of people who didn't like this book, so of course I felt interested in seeing if I would like it.

You see, I did like it, though not as much as I wanted to. Perhaps the problem is that my expectations were very high, or that I'm not a fan of neither romance nor fantasy. In any way, I was disappointed.

Karou has two lives. One of them we would call “normal,” that is, she goes to classes, studies, etc.; in the other one, she runs errands for demons,—or rather, chimaera—yet she doesn't know why she does it. She feels lonely and has ever wondered if she belongs where she is.

Things get bad when a mysterious guy appears and after that, handprints start to appear, the doorway to Elsewhere gets burned and she has more questions as to why that happened.

"Once upon a time, a little girl was raised by monsters. But angels burned the doorways to their world, and she was all alone."

Even when I didn't like this book as much as my friends did, there was a thing that I truly loved. If you've read the series, or if you've heard the blurb, then you might have an idea about as to what it is. What I loved was the writing. It was beautiful. You could feel as if you were walking in Prague with Karou. It was vivid and poetical and I really loved it, especially the once-upon-a-time bits.

As to the characters, I didn't particularly connect with them. I really liked Karou, because I could relate to her and I liked her personality.

Most people say Akiva is really sexy and blah, blah, but again, I don't feel the same as most people did. I never liked him. Not as a love interest, not as a plain man, not as anything. He felt too much Jekyll/Hyde for me and unrealistic.

The other characters were interesting as well. Zuzana was amazing and she added a little fun to the book. Brimstone was simply brilliant and I loved him. Issa was also intriguing with all her snakes and whatnot. Just Akiva was the problem.

"Once upon a time, an angel lay dying in the mist. And a devil knelt over him and smiled."

And then, the thing that bothered me the most... Insta-love. I knew this series had a lot of romance, and I knew who the couple was before reading this, but when I started it, based on Karou's behaviour, I would have never thought she would fall like that.



I like characters to be developed more before introducing some kind of romance in there. I know it is somewhat justified, but still... Sigh, you know how I feel about that.

But don't get me wrong. This is a good book. It leaves in shame many YA books, it's just that I didn't particularly love it. The world building and the take the story took on angels and demons was something else I really liked. It didn't go for the normal turn it takes in other books, and I appreciated that. Laini Taylor certainly has talent.

I will read book 2, but I no longer have high expectations. I've heard it's better, so let's see.



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Review: Finale

Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick

My rating: 1 of 5 stars





I know I am a masochist, don't blame me.

If you ask me why I decided to even continue the series, I would answer you that I don't know, because it's true.

This book was just as painful as the previous ones... well, perhaps not as painful as the second one, but it was still trash.

First, the characters. I hate Nora and Patch with all my soul. Nora, it seems, has no brain. She certainly grew a little, but she. Still. Is. Stupid.

Patch. Damned guy. How I hated him! He exasperated me. He's supposed to gain our pity after all he went through, but guess what? VANESSA HAS NO HEART AND SHE DOESN'T CARE!!

Then, I couldn't care less about what was going to happen in the end. It was boring and predictable. Tell me, what do you think was the ending. If your answer is: Happily ever after with some "tense" situations that were going to make you worried (but didn't work for me); then you're right.

And the writing... ADAKJALDJGHKJHGHEIHL! So. Effing. Bad.

Okay, I'll try to calm down.

I. Hated. This. I still cannot understand why I have this mania of continuing series I hate. I promise I'll try to stop that.

Oh, and one more thing, what kind of anti-climactic name is that?

Ugh.

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Review: Cymbeline

Cymbeline by William Shakespeare

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Imogen is the daughter of the king Cymbeline. She wants to marry a guy (Posthumus Leonatus), but her father wants her to marry another one. She secretly marries Posthumus, but Cymbeline banishes him. In his exile, he starts bragging about how chaste his wife is. This calls some men's attention. Well, to make a long story short, I'm just going to say that there are some lies, jealousy, mistakes and that in the end, there's a huge conflict to solve.

When I started this book, I thought it was going to be something like King Lear. I thought there was going to be a king who couldn't control his feelings or whatever, but the truth is that this is not about Cymbeline. I would call this play “Much Ado about Imogen,” because really, all the things that happened had to do with her in both a direct and indirect sense. Yes, there's a war and an evil Queen with evil plans that wants to ruin Cymbeline, but the story is never about him. It's all about his daughter.

The writing is as flawless as ever. I know I've said this like a million times, but Shakespeare really knew how to write. The language is decorated and beautiful, and I really love it.

While I didn't think this play was particularly great, I still liked it. Needless to say, that this is a must-read for everyone, but I truly recommend it.



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Review: The Strange Case of Finley Jayne

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne by Kady Cross

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars



I don't normally read novellas. I don't think I've read more than five of them, but I decided to try this one because it was said it is better than the series. And it was true.

This less than a hundred pages novella was much more fun than the series. In first place, Finley is better developed... in less than a hundred pages. In the series, she's boring, while in this book, she's more kick-ass, which is what I wanted from the series.

In second place, this is much more fast-paced. Yes, I know, it's a novella. It had to go right to the point, but in the series nothing happened. It was completely boring, while this one was very funny. Really enjoyable, actually.

But even when I enjoyed this book, I cannot rate it more than 2.5 stars. It's not bad, it's that I had many issues with it, and those things always ruin my experience while reading. You see, there are very few books I consider utterly perfect. I've rated some books five stars, but I have complaints (even if they're small) for most of them.

Let's start with the bad things, then...

· The references to classic books aka references to Frankenstein. Really, Ms. Cross, you could have gone to Wikipedia to get the right summary for that book.

· It felt silly at some points. Like, some unnecessary things happened and they felt laughable.

Those are my two major complaints. They are not so big, but they bothered me a lot, especially the first one. Still, I enjoyed this book. It was a lot of fun. This one I recommend. The series I don't.



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Review: The Diabolical Miss Hyde

The Diabolical Miss Hyde by Viola Carr

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“In London, we've got murderers by the dozen. Rampsmen, garroters, wife beaters and baby farmers, poisoners and pie makers and folk who’ll crack you over the noddle with a ha’penny cosh for the sake of your flashy watch chain and leave your meat for the rats. Never mind what you read in them penny dreadfuls: there ain’t no romance in murder.

But every now and again, we gets us an artist.”

If you've read my pre-review, you'd know that I was really excited for this book (see below of you haven't). And not only was I excited, but I also had high expectations. When those two things get combined, the odds of being disappointed are high. Good thing I am not disappointed, because I got all I wanted.

Eliza Jekyll is a crime scene investigator. She has helped to capture many murderers and now she has a most interesting and gruesome case—the case of “the Chopper.” All the victims he killed have many things in common. Let's say, he leaves his signature in all of their bodies. In all the corpses were traces of an electrical weapon of some sorts, all were drugged before being murdered... and all of them are missing limbs.

But Eliza Jekyll is not only that. She's also the daughter of the famous Henry Jekyll. You know him, don't you? He's the man who split himself in two halves—one good, one bad—and tried to get rid of his bad half—Edward Hyde. Just as him, Eliza has a bad half, and her name is Lizzie Hyde. Both of them are completely different.

First, there's Eliza. She's what one would call a “proper woman,” in the Victorian standards. She's intelligent, witty, observant, calm and she takes meticulous care of her reputation, because she doesn't want to end like her father. She's a little shy and she's afraid of showing the world what she really is and what she thinks.

And then, there's Lizzie. If you've read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, you can probably guess how she is, but if you haven't, then I'll tell you: She's impulsive, reckless, uncontainable, seductive and selfish. Not only that, but she also doesn't give a damn about what people think of her.

The book is not just a mystery novel. It's also about the struggles of a girl fighting her inner demons and her struggles in trying to be a respectable physician and detective in a time in which women were not taken seriously for this things. It was by no means a perfect book, but it was cleverly done.

The writing is also good. I had some complaints about it (oh, my), but I let them pass. It follows two formats: One is in an omniscient way, and that one is present whenever Eliza is present; the other one is in first person and is narrated by Lizzie. Both feel different, but I liked them. There's plenty use of slang (mostly Lizzie's) and scientific terms, but that didn't make it less enjoyable. If anything, it made me like it better.

You have to pay attention to all details if you want to figure out who the murderer is before the answer is revealed because there are plenty of suspects and there are more details than grains of sand.

Needless to say, I liked all the characters. Neither of them were perfect. They all had their flaws, and that made me like them even more. Perfect characters can be boring, and these ones were far from that. Besides, they were all really intriguing and they all had interesting backstories.

Twist after twist after another twist, this books managed to be liked by me. I'm hard to please, so that should tell you something. It's thrilling, dark at some points, it had two—no, three—kick-ass women, it's a crime novel... Completely enjoyable for me.

Oh, and one more thing: THIS IS NOT A PARANORMAL ROMANCE MASQUERADING AS A CRIME/MYSTERY BOOK! There, I've said it. With just that (and all of the above), you know that this is highly recommended. I'll most certainly read the sequel if this is indeed a series and not a stand-alone.

Pre-review:

Whoa, whoa, whoa...

Reasons why I want to read this book:

1. A Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde retelling: Why not? I love that book. It's dark, and really interesting. One of my favorite books of all time.

2. "In an electric-powered Victorian London (...)": Victorian London is given for dark and mysterious tales.

3. "Dr. Eliza Jekyll is a crime scene investigator, hunting killers with inventive new technological gadgets (...)": You tell me what part of that doesn't sound amazing. Crime scene investigator? Yes, please. And also, she's a chick. The odds of her being kick-ass are high.

4. DA COVERRRR: C'mon, you can't deny it's awesome.

In summary,

I AM EXCITE!



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Review: Batman: The Killing Joke

Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Batman has always been my favorite superhero, and this particular book has been said to be the best one, so of course I had to read it. I'm not a big fan of graphic novels (if I'm not wrong, I think this is the first one I read), but I'm glad I decided to give it a try.

The star of the show is not Batman but no other than the Joker. I liked that he was given a compelling backstory. Of course that doesn't justify his actions but it helps to get to know the “villain” a little and to understand his actions.

Something that I'll never understand is why Batman always lets the Joker go. I mean, it's not like he lets him escape; it's that in this particular case, the Joker did something that really pissed me off (Barbara Gordon!), and if I had been Batman, I would've ripped his head with my bare hands, but I guess that if he had indeed done that, the Joker's point might have proved right and he would've been the winner. Oh, why do I have to take books so seriously?

The graphics were good. At times they were a little creepy, but they did justice to the story, and really, it was a dark one, so they fitted it. No complaints about them.

It's totally worth reading this. I'll most definitely continue reading more of Batman. I mean, please, it's Batman. He's one of my (many) fictional crushes.

100% recommended.



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Review: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



In 2010, we had to read for classes one of the Sherlock Holmes' books. My teacher gave us three options. Those options were The Hound of the Baskervilles, A Study in Scarlet and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. We had to vote for the one we considered the most interesting, and the winner was THotB. Since then, I made the promise to read the entire canon... but I did it with one purpose: To get to TMoSH. Do you know why? Because in this one Holmes was supposed to die, and also because Moriarty appears.

Okay, now off to review each story.

Silver Blaze:

Plot: A great horse (Silver Blaze) has just disappeared and he had a race the next day, so they need him because the bets are made and people might get angry if they don't get to see the famous horse running.

Thoughts: This one is not outstanding, but it was interesting to see how Holmes deduced who did the villainy. It's not a complex one, but it's not predictable, so I really enjoyed it.

The Yellow Face:

Plot: Mr. Munro is married and has a happy life until one day he sees a yellow face inside a cottage where his wife was found once. He's jealous and consults Holmes to see what he can get from his story.

Thoughts: This one has a touching moment in the end, which I rather liked. Oh, and Holmes is not perfect, ladies and gentlemen. He sometimes has his deductions wrong.

The Stockbroker's Clerk:

Plot: A man is offered a job, but he's suspicious as to the employer's motives. Holmes and Watson hurry to see what's behind all that.

Thoughts: Ah, there's always a fool. Someone is deceived, but Holmes managed to discover who the responsible for the tricks is before it was too late. A good story, in general.

The “Gloria Scott”:

Plot: This is Holmes' first case, dated back to his university days. The story revolves around a ship named “Gloria Scott.”

Thoughts: Holmes first case! I really liked this story. Watson always wants to know things about his friend's past, and here's where he got his fill. Sherlock was a misanthrope back in his university days. Ah, Holmes, some people never change...

The Musgrave Ritual:

Plot: This was a clever one. It rounds about a family ritual and the disappearance of two people.

Thoughts: As I said, this was clever and really intriguing. Holmes' way of solving the riddle (for it is indeed a riddle) is not the usual one, so I ended up enjoying it immensely.

The Reigate Puzzle:

Plot: Holmes is sick, and he decides to give himself (or rather Watson pushed him) a vacation. In there, Holmes finds that there are also people who need him, so he decides to quit his vacation and solve a case for them, which is about a murder. The victim had a mysterious torn piece of paper in his hand, and it appear that this paper was very valuable.

Thoughts: This one was very intriguing and thrilling. It had an intense action scene that I enjoyed deeply. There was indeed a puzzle. If you can, try to solve it before Holmes reveals the answer.

The Adventure of the Crooked Man:

Plot: A man is dead and his wife is suspected. Holmes calls Watson (Did you hear that, people? Holmes calls Watson) to ask him his opinion about the case and to see how everything ends.

Thoughts: Damn Holmes and his ability to make complicated things simple. Why did he call Watson? Not because he needed his help, but merely to have someone to show his brilliance. But the story was interesting, and we have some more of Holmes ever-growing arrogance.

The Resident Patient:

Plot: Blessington hires Dr. Trelawney as his doctor and everything is well until one day something happens to Blessington and Trelawney's new patients seem rather odd, so he gets suspicious and asks Holmes for advice.

Thoughts: With each story in this collection, they grew better and better. This one was really interesting and it kept me glued to the book throughout the course of it. The answer to the problem was just as intriguing as the problem itself.

The Greek Interpreter:

Plot: A greek interpreter, Melas, is hired to a job. In his workplace, some weird things happen and Melas feels there's something wrong.

Thoughts: In this story, Mycroft Holmes is introduced to Watson's astonishment. See, Watson? Sherlock Holmes has a brother. Mycroft was quite an interesting character. He's just as intelligent as Holmes is, the difference being that Mycroft is kind of lazy and prefers to stay either at home or at his club. This one was a wicked and interesting story.

The Naval Treaty:

Plot: An important document, a naval treaty, has just been stolen from Percy Phelps' office. There are many suspects and they all could have a motive for doing the deed.

Thoughts: This is the kind of story that I tend to enjoy the most. The mystery was present during the entire narration, and it always has you thinking as to who might have stolen the document. Holmes, now please take my application as your assistant. I'm serious.

The Final Problem:

Plot: Holmes is hunting down his great arch-enemy, professor Moriarty. Moriarty is a genius and plus, he has malice, so that obviously makes him a dangerous man and Holmes is determined to bring him to an end.

Thoughts: The best story in this collection. Sure, why not? Seeing Holmes trying to defeat an enemy that has his same abilities was great. The ending was sad because Watson was all broken because of Holmes' “death.”

Poor him.

...

The Sherlock Holmes' canon is one of my favorite series of all time. I read the nine books in a row without getting bored, so that should tell you something. I continue to love Sherlock and all his treats. I love his arrogance, his misanthropy, his coldness, his intelligence... everything. They make him a really interesting character, and we know he's the master of deduction.

I admit that even when my favorite collection of short stories is The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (my review), this one was also really good. And as I said, it's one of my favorite books of all time.

When I graduate as a chemist, I'm gonna be like him, and my name is gonna be Vanessa the kick-ass, mad, gorgeous and sherlockian chemist.

Just kidding. That sounds immature and stupid as hell, but I still wanna be like him.

He looks so badass in there.

Anyway, what are you waiting for if you haven't read this? GO READ IT NOW!!! What else can you possibly want from a book? There's mystery, there are murders, there's a sociopath with his assistant... The perfect formula for a book.



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Review: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I'm continuing with writing reviews for all of the books in the Sherlock Holmes canon. Now is the turn of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes!

A Scandal in Bohemia:

Plot: The King of Bohemia comes to Holmes to ask him for help because an ex-lover he had owns a picture of him and her that can compromise his reputation.

Opinion: Kick-ass female! Irene Adler might be the best woman in literature. She's the only one who manages to leave Holmes for a fool and ruin his plans. Ha! Ha! I love Holmes, but I love "the woman" more.

The Adventure of the Red-Headed League:

Plot: A red-headed man sees a newspaper add that's offering work in a company, but the condition to apply is that you're red-headed. He gets the job because his hair is the perfect tone. Some time after he starts to works there, the society dissolves. Why? Let Holmes answer the questions.

Opinion: I admit I guessed the answer for this story before Holmes revealed it. It's not a predictable story, but I followed the facts and got the answer. Holmes, I'm talking to you. Take. My. Application. As. Your. Assistant. I'm much better than Watson!

A Case of Identity:

Plot: A woman's fiance disappeared just when they were going to marry and she's worried. She goes to Holmes, and before she finishes her tale, he already has an idea as to the answer of her problem...

Opinion: I'm only going to laugh hysterically. Remember the case's name, for it is crucial if you want to get the answer before Holmes reveals it.

The Boscombe Valley Mystery:

Plot: A man has been murdered and his son is suspected. Holmes does not think the man's son did it, but that would require to investigate more...

Opinion: Woosh... The backstory in this case was creepy and compelling. At all points in the narration, I was feeling thrilled and I couldn't stop reading until the riddle was finally solved.

The Five Orange Pips:

Plot: A young gentleman receives a card signed by the K.K.K. with five orange pips contained in it. He goes to Holmes because some other strange things started to happen and he fears he's in danger.

Opinion: This one was a little meh. DON'T GET ME WRONG, it was good, just not as good as the other ones. Holmes' solution to the problem is quite simple, but I couldn't help but think "Take that, you assholes!" (the asshole is not Holmes, in case you were wondering).

The Man with the Twisted Lip:

Plot: A woman's husband disappeared, and the last time she saw him was in an opium den. When the man noticed her, he immediately withdrew from a window in which he could be seen. She obviously felt something was off, so she ran to the window, but when she got there, the man was nowhere to be seen.

Opinion: Clever, clever, clever... This one started really dark, but then started to clear off a little. I really enjoyed this one. Holmes, as usual, has the answer before the lady has her tale finished. Clever, as I said.

The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle:

Plot: A priceless jewel has gone missing and there's no clue as to where it is. Holmes finds an old hat and a goose, but inside that goose was the lost blue carbuncle. How did it get there? Who was the thief? That's the question.

Opinion:

That's all I'm gonna say!

The Adventure of the Speckled Band:

Plot: A lady's step-father urges her to move to a house. In this certain house, the lady's sister had died a terrible death, so the lady is obviously frightened.

Opinion: AMAZING. I think this is the best one in this collection. Full of mystery... and it also has a wicked man with wicked purposes...

The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb:

Plot: We all know Watson is a doctor, so he's constantly attenting his patients. Well, one night, a man without a thumb came to him. This man has an interesting story to tell, and he's about to give Holmes one hell of a case.

Opinion: Mein. Gott. This one, besides having mystery and a full pack of thrill, also had a chase and many action and kick-ass scenes. I truly enjoyed it. One of the best in this collection. *thumbs up*

The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor:

Plot: A lady disappears on her wedding day. Her fiance asks Holmes for his help because he's worried and he wonders why she left... but Holmes of course knows what became of her.

Opinion: For you, noble bachelor:

The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet:

Plot: A man must guard a coronet, but one night, a noise awakens him when he goes to see what happened, he finds his son with the coronet in his hands... and with three of the beryls missing. Is he guilty? Where are the beryls? Why would he do that?

Opinion: One advice for you, humans: If Holmes tells you something, never argue with him. He's always right.

The Adventure of the Copper Beeches:

Plot: A young beautiful lady is offered a job with good payment, but she has to cut her hair in order to accept. She's puzzled but after her salary offer is raised, she finally accepts. At her job, she's asked to do weird things, so she decides to ask Holmes' advice (she had previously asked him whether she should accept or not the offer), for he's also supicious.

Opinion: I've just one thing to say: The family for which Miss Hunter worked is weird... and creepy. Seriously, they made me shudder and they also made me think "WTF?" all the time. I never saw any of the things coming.

...

So well, did I think this was good?

Hell yeah! This was absolutely amazing, just as all of the Sherlock Holmes's stories. They're all thrilling and well-written. I have no complaints for any of them. That should tell you something, because I always have something bad to say for things.

Now, marry me, Holmes!

Mmm... charming.

100% recommended. If you have not read this, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? THIS IS THE BOMB!

P.S.: Wow, imagine if all the fictional characters to which I've proposed marriage accepted...



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Review: Matched

Matched by Ally Condie

My rating: 1 of 5 stars



There is a society in which everything is planned. And when I say “everything,” I really mean it. They plan how many children you're gonna have, what your job's gonna be, who you're going to marry, even the day you'll die (if you don't die sooner) is planned. This is the society in which Cassia lives.

When I read the synopsis for the first time I was really intrigued. Back when I read this book, I was in a dystopian face of my life. I only read those kind of books. You may recommend me a good book and I wouldn't have probably read it because I only wanted dystopia. So you can guess I was like this:

I was hoping I could get some interesting and complicated book, but what I got was far from good. I started it eager, nonetheless, that excitement suddenly faded away. At one moment, I was on page one, and ten hours later I was on page five. Really, I could spend hours reading and reading and the story never moved on. This was boring.

But that was the least of the problems. There was another one that bothered me more, and it was the insta-love.

I said the society in which Cassia lived arranged your whole life. Part of that was your husband. Well, she didn't wish anyone in specific, but she had some preference towards her friend Xavier, because she knew him, not necessarily because she was in love with him. The thing is, when her moment for her partner to be assigned came, she got Xavier, but before the image faded, she saw a glimpse of another face, one that was not Xavier's.

You know where this is going, don't you? She's interested in knowing who the guy is. So one day, she's just living her normal life and bam! The guy appears and insta-love gets in the way. They start meeting after that, the guy starts to introduce rebellious ideas in her mind, and since she's innocent and never breaks the rule, of course she cannot do anything but succumb to his charms.

Furthermore, nothing happened and the writing was insipid, so I was not left with anger, or sadness, or thrill. When I read books, I like to feel. I like to experiment anything inside me, whether it be hatred, happiness, sorrow or thrill.

That's right. I didn't feel anything. Or well, I did feel something... and it was that I had been wasting my time.

I've no idea why I continued the series, because it just grew worse and worse with each book. The second one has the middle-book syndrome and it's more boring than this one, and the last one I didn't even manage to finish. I don't do this anymore. This habit I had of continuing series I don't like is something I no longer do. Why I did that before is something I cannot answer.

Not recommended.



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Review: Cracked

Cracked by Eliza Crewe

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I didn't even know about the existence of this book until a few weeks ago, when someone started to fangirl over it and I got excited. There are few YA books I genuinely like, so when 5 star reviews about this book started to appear all over my feed, I knew that was the moment for me to pick up Cracked.

So, what is my general opinion on this book?

Yes, that's it: Awesome. And now, I'll tell you more about it...

Meda eats people. No really, she does. She eats bad people's soul. The souls she eats are to her what water is to you and I, so she can't really avoid it... but she doesn't mind. In fact, she enjoys it. Her life has been full with secrets and she's never felt the necessity to know the answer to all her questions. That is, until three hissing men show up where she is and they're suddenly interested in her.

That was Meda talking to you. I absolutely loved her. Meda was the perfect protagonist. All authors should follow Eliza Crewe's example in creating heroines like Meda. She's a kick-ass, funny, sarcastic, selfish and ghoulish sociopath. She's not whiny and is not drooling over the first hot boy that talks to her. In fact, when that boy appears, she can just think how foolish he is. She admits he's attractive, but he's not a love interest. She loves blood and she's not a stupid altruistic MC. And she can't help but love to be a bad girl.

What else can I say to show you that I want to marry her?

The other characters were also lovable. There's Chi (short for Malachi), who has a peanut-sized brain, but is suicidal and heroic; Jo, who is kind of a misanthrope but it's really intelligent; and Uri, who's a cute but brave 13-year-old boy. They were not perfect teenagers, and that's precisely what made them even more likeable.

To tell you the truth, the plot in this book didn't sound very appealing to me. I think I have said that I'm not a fan of fantasy books. I prefer reading realistic things, or if they are fantasy, I like them with a lot of scientific explanations (don't blame me). So, when I found out that this book had angels and demons, I was like:

But I'm glad I ignored that fact.

Another thing that I really enjoyed is that this book is anti-cliche. It's like Crewe knew exactly what I don't like in books and she took them out. Everytime something was happening and I mentally said “Oh God, I know how this is going to end,” what happened was actually something that hadn't even occured to me. Props for that, Crewe.

Anyway, I really recommend this book. If you don't read it, I'm going to call Meda and tell her to eat your soul. She's not gonna flinch and she's going to enjoy it.

And now, off to read the second one!

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Review: Girl of Nightmares

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars



Cas cannot get over the fact that Anna sacrificed herself for he and his friends. He just can't. She was the only girl in which he was genuinely interested, and he lost her in the blink of an eye. But that's not the only thing that's troubling him. He senses that Anna is suffering in wherever she is that she went. And he's right and determined to save her at all costs.

Okay, it's difficult for me to print my thoughts right after I finished this book, but I'll try anyway.

While I didn't enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed the previous installment, it was still worth the read. There were many frightening parts, and there were parts that kept me at the edge of my seat. Cas was still a funny narrator, though not as much as he was in the first book.

As I said at the beginning, he's all depressed because he just lost his dead girlfriend... and I meant it. During the first half of the book, he was a whiny teenager worrying only about a dead girl whom he had known for only two months. He could bother the hell out of me at some points. In fact, I almost left the book unread while I calmed down.

The book started a little slower than the first one. Another reason why I almost left it unfinished was because in this same half, it was a bit boring. But it was still worth it because things started to pick up after some time.

When I had read 60% of the book, I could no longer separate myself form the book. Things started to happened so fast that I could no longer keep count of the pages I read. The second half of the book was by far my favorite.I began to be completely thrilled when they finally left for London to meet their task to rescue Anna.

The ending I cannot say it's disappointing. I seriously thought things would end different, but I'm pleased with what I got. In fact, the actual ending of the book is way better than what I was waiting. It was a bit sad, but great all the same.

If you started reading this book and you cannot stand Cassio, or you're bored, consider your decision of leaving it unfinished. Even when it is true that it was somewhat boring and that Cas was acting like a kid after his parents deny him something, it was still worth the read. It's not the best thing I've read in my life (because you obviously know what is the-best-thing-I've-read-in-my-life's name), but this series is for sure one of the best books in YA fiction I've had the pleasure of reading.

P.S.: Suicide Forest.




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Review: The Infinite Sea

The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey

My rating:

3.5 of 5 stars

Mr. Yancey, you're an awesome writer. Really, you are. The Infinite Sea was very good, I'm serious. But, umm, I still think The Monstrumologist is your best work.

After reading both The 5th Wave and The Infinite Sea and also The Monstrumologist series, I can see clearly that you have no faith in humanity. The message in both series is explicit: You think humanity is already rotten and it has no way back. Anyway, this is a review about The Infinite Sea, so I'll talk about that...

Even when The Monstrumologist is the best book I've read by him, I still enjoyed The Infinite Sea. It was a little slow at the beginning, but then, the second half of the book was like:

And I was like this:

So, yeah...it was good.

But I have to discuss some other things, for instance, Cassie...

My God! Cassie really annoyed me in this book. She was always sulking over Evan. I mean, this was Cassie throughout the book:

And the whole time, while she was like that, I was like this:

But she wasn't the centre of this book. I mean, the book was narrated in many (many) POV's, so she was a very little part of the story.

There's another character I want to discuss, that is Ringer. Holy Mother of God. I loved her. Since the first book, she was my favorite. She's really badass and intelligent and strong and and and...she's amazing.

***SPOILER ALERT***

And then, the thing about the aliens...

OH. MY. GOD. Rick Yancey, how on Earth could you do that? No aliens? I mean, no freaking aliens? So we humans are thatdepraved? Not that I think the contrary, but still, that was completely mind-blowing.

I remember, in The Monstrumologist, that same thing. Will Henry said that the only monster that plagues Earth is the human race, not the things he and Dr. Warthrop hunted, and that there are no monsters, only men. And now, there are no aliens, only men. Wow.

***END SPOILER***

So, yeah, you really have a bad view on humanity.

...

And then...the writing. I don't even know how he does that, but he really knows how to write. In my review about The Book Thief I said I envied Markus Zusak's writing (not that I don't anymore), but just thinking about Rick Yancey's writing makes me want to cry over myself because it is very very difficult for me to write something decent. And to think he can introduce an amazing plot with a good bunch of philosophizing doesn't make it any better. I adore hate you, Mr. Yancey. Now, I've made the decision to read more of your books... But actually, I made it after I finished reading the heart-breaking, soul-crushing, mind-blowing and amazing series called The Monstrumologist.

Well, I don't know what else to write, so...to sum up, The Infinite Sea was a very good book. A bit slow at the beginning, but fast-paced then. Still, I think Rick Yancey at his best is in The Monstrumologist. I just wish that series was the one who won the popularity, because I feel I'm the only one who has read it. Anyway, I really recommend The Infinite Sea (as well as The 5th Wave), but maybe you have already read it, so, instead, you can read The Monstrumologist. Okay, no more fangirling.

100% recommended.

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Review: Measure for Measure

Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Summary:

Claudio has just been arrested because he left a prostitute pregnant, and that is chastised with death. Her sister, a novice, is informed of this situation. She runs to Angelo, the man who imprisoned Claudio, and begs for his mercy. Angelo, seeing only a beautiful and virgin nun, is aroused by her and thus, he decides he will let Claudio live if Isabella, Claudio's sister, surrenders her virginity to him. As a good girl that Isabella is, she obviously rejects the offer.

Things get more complicated after this point. Isabella, then, goes to her brother to tell him the awful news. What do you think he does? He, as a perfect gentleman (I'm being sarcastic now), tells Isabella to consider Angelo's offer. What do you think Isabella does? She, as a girl who respects herself (I'm not being sarcastic anymore), leaves Claudio to rot because he just implied that his life is much more valuable than his sister's reputation and spirit. What neither of them knew was that the Duke of Vienna, dressed as a friar, was present throughout the whole discussion, and he's willing to help.

It turns out Angelo was, some years before, engaged to marry a young lady called Mariana, but he broke the engagement because she lost all her dowry. The "friar" thinks it's a great opportunity for her to take "revenge" on him, and thus, he tells Isabella to accept Angelo's offer, but taking into account that Mariana will take Isabella's place in Angelo's bed.

Angelo and Mariana (he thinking is actually Isabella) have sex and after that, as a great asshole and bastard Angelo is, decides to not forgive Claudio's life because he fears Isabella will want to take revenge on him for forcing her to give away her virginity.

Of course that ruins everyone's plans and the "friar" has to come up with another one before it is too late. After many conflicts, the Duke (as himself) returns to Vienna and there's already an angry bienvenue committee waiting for him. Isabella tells him the story so she gets justice for "having lost her virginity" and also lost her brother, whose life had been promised to be saved. The play ends with the Duke revealing himself to be the friar and thus proving that Isabella and Mariana's story is true. There's justice for everyone and a "happy ending" for all.

My thoughts:

What a complicated and dark play, is the first thing that comes up to my mind. In this one, as well as in All's Well That Ends Well, the happy ending is ambiguous. The play cannot be classified as a tragedy because the ending wouldn't let it be called so, nonetheless, I don't see it as a comedy, either. This situation has happened to me with several of Shakespeare's plays. For me, his plays should not be classified as simply "tragedy" or "comedy," because they're much more than solely that.

The set of characters in this one was quite interesting. I actually had some feelings towards them. Isabella was by far my favorite. She's intelligent and self-respectful. I admired her conviction and her strong spirit. At the ending, I was not quite convinced of her attitude, but I am not angry at her. The other character for whom I felt anything was Angelo. Oh, how I hated that man! Abhorrent, selfish and proud. Yuck.

It's a fascinating thing that even when many centuries have passed since this was written, people still get entertained by Shakespeare's works. I've no doubt that many more centuries will pass and his works will remain being read and enjoyed by a wide span of people. I've not read half his works, but I will keep on reading them until I finish them, hopefully before 2015 ends.

Finally, I recommend this wholeheartedly. Maybe you have read it, but anyway, it does not hurt to recommend this masterpiece.



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