magikspells

Coming off of reading [b:The Maze Runner|6186357|The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, #1)|James Dashner|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1369690691s/6186357.jpg|6366642], I really expected to hate this book from the beginning. All I could think was GREAT another all boy cast and animosity among them, blah blah blah.

I'm perfectly content to say that I was wrong about this book. I LOVED it! This book didn't spend a lot of time in getting to the actual plot and creating some action. Sage is a lovely, sarcastic, asshole of a character who has been bought by a wealthy aristocrat Connor from an orphanage along with a group of other boys around his age. They bare a resemblance to Prince Jaron who went missing 4 years ago after his ship was attacked by pirates. Connor wishes to have one of the boys pretend to be Jaron, to take the throne since the royal family has been murdered. The competition between the boys is fierce, none of whom want to return to the orphanages they were in.

You think you know where this book is going. But you don't. And I love that. I so rarely find myself surprised by a YA book, better yet a YA high fantasy book, but this one got me. On several occasions. Sage is a perfect narrator, he's smart, funny, and honestly hard to dislike.

I think the only problem with this book was that there wasn't much world building. I've read enough high fantasy that I didn't really feel like I was missing out on anything, but it could use some work. Now I'm debating whether to go onto the next one or go with the others I already have lined up. Ugh decisions.

So I got like 5 hours into this book, but the copy I had skipped about 2 hours, so I need to find a better copy. Until then this one is on hold.

This book! This book was soooo difficult to get into and therefore really hard to review. I didn't hate it, but I really didn't like it all that much. It was so long and so drawn out, with nothing but questions. Even things that could be answered are kept shrouded in mystery for longer than need be.

The characters could use some work, they lack a lot of dimension so it's hard to get attached to them. The only reason I liked anything about this book was because of the ending. Finally some answers and some legitimate mystery. It was too bad it had to come so late in the game.

Lets be honest. I wanted to like this book. I wanted to love it. I just came off [b:The Lost Symbol|6411961|The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon, #3)|Dan Brown|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358274396s/6411961.jpg|6600281] which I adored. But I'm not sure I totally bought this story. My main problem was that I think Dan Brown tried to do something very different with this story. This is a risky move on the 4th book of a series, throwing us a curveball is very confusing.

This book starts off with our lovely Robert Langdon waking up from a coma with no memories after being shot. Essentially, the story takes place in reverse, with Robert being forced to retrace steps that he'd already taken the previous day in trying to solve a mystery relating to Dante's Divine Comedy. This backward retracing works with some stories, I'm not sure it works here. At times it felt very repetitive, even if I didn't see Robert go to the museum the first time or solve the puzzle the first time, it feels redundant knowing that he's essentially doing all this work twice.

All the while there is this group, the Consortium, who are a shady group who has been financing a scientist who is adamantly supportive of Malthusian population catastrophe, appears to be trying to hunt down Langdon. Still with me?

So far, we have The Divine Comedy, Malthusian Population catastrophe, privately contracted corporations with hitmen, the World Health Organization, and an anesthetized Robert. This book is not for the faint of heart, obviously.

But to complicate matters, then we start throwing in the fact that this scientist could have created a super virus to wipe out part of the population. I'm out of breath trying to remember everything.

Dan Brown tried to tackle too much in this book. There were too many things going on. And I really just disliked Sienna. This book was well written, it just wasn't what I wanted with Robert Langdon.

Just a short little story, but oh how much I love Cinder. That poor child. I thought I felt bad for her during the series, but this takes place with her at the age of 11 and it just breaks my heart. That poor girl and the crap that's been dealt to her.

I thought this whole thing was novellas taking place before the Immortal Rules. I wasn't paying attention clearly. I only read the Julie Kagawa story because I just really wasn't that interested in the others. I might give them a try later. But even the first one was just kinda bleh to me. I mean I love the Immortal Rules world. But that just felt boring. And it reminded me a lot of the second season of the Walking Dead with the family farm and I didn't care for that either. So I got bored. Whatever, it was an ok read, definitely a lot racier than Julie's other works thus far.

Another short story, but I just really love Marissa Meyer's world. This one takes place between [b:Cinder|11235712|Cinder (Lunar Chronicles, #1)|Marissa Meyer|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1317794278s/11235712.jpg|15545385] and [b:Scarlet|13206760|Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles, #2)|Marissa Meyer|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1342485529s/13206760.jpg|18390691]. And I found it a really interesting look at the Queen's Army (haha shocking since that's the title!) being that it's one of the focuses of the second book. I enjoyed this background look at it. Very short, very too the point, a good read if you enjoy this universe.

I'm not going to lie. I really loved this book. I'm trying to think of how to put it into the right words but it's difficult.

Anyone who's ever read one of Dan Brown's Robert Langdon books knows that they follow a pattern: Robert is leading his normal professor life, gets pulled into wacky mystery either by accident or someone else's will, some lady (usually a scientist) gets pulled into said mystery with them, somehow the authorities find out, Langdon and lady-friend evade authorities, and mystery gets solved but its usually not in the way Langdon expects.

This one follows the same sorta format. So what's the big deal? I think I enjoyed this book because like Dan Brown's other books, he tackles a subject that most people won't. This go around, his subject matter is secret societies, particularly the Masons. I thought this book would paint them as the evil creepy weird society that no one understands, because weirdly people don't bother to try to understand them. They aren't evil, there's no conspiracy, its not like that at all. Perhaps I just went into this book with a particular bias because my family has a long Masonic history.

Back to the book. I think what got me was that this book had an epic twist. I love getting caught by surprise. I was so wrapped up in the story, I wasn't trying to predict what would happen and I was completely blindsided. That's what this book does, it engulfs you.

I'm done, this is a haphazard review. I loved this book.

Maybe alien books just aren't my thing? Or maybe I just didn't fall into the story *cough*internet hype*cough* the same way other people did. Oh well. It's not a bad story, it's actually sorta interesting. But its really not about aliens, it's mostly a lot of introspection and curt interactions between characters that aren't particularly likeable. I just felt like the storylines were so disconnected for so long, it hurt my perception of the overall plot. I really stopped caring after a while.

Plus none of the twists were really all that shocking. And I didn't find Cassie to be particularly likable. But oh well, it was a worthwhile read. I guess.

Good god this book could not have ended sooner. Really? This was only 9 or so hours long. It was so agonizingly long because I felt like I was listening to a story I'd heard before. And that story wasn't good the first time around.

I thought it would be good because there's so much positive feedback about it. But really?
People who tell you this is a better version of Twilight are lying. This IS Twilight. Lets look at some comparisons.

Awkward plain brunette. CHECK
Absentee single parent. CHECK
She's the new kid in a small town. CHECK
Meets insanely attractive guy that treats her like shit. CHECK
Hot guys family wants to be her friend. CHECK
Hot guy saves her from an attacker. CHECK
Rest of the family hates the girl for putting them in danger. CHECK
Because of the girl, enemies are after family now. CHECK
Girl thinks throwing her life away solves all problems. CHECK

These same traits could apply to either Twilight or Obsidian, just change the vampire to alien. I really wanted to like this book, but there's nothing likeable about it. Deamon is an ass, Katy is just flaky and not too smart, the only likeable character I thought was Dee and she gets sidelined while 'the men do the work.'

This is ranty, but I did enjoy the aliens and what little of their backstory is revealed. I felt a little cheated there, I kind of want some more information about that and less of the lame arguments between Katy and Deamon. I'll have to think about getting the next one.

Surprisingly, upon finishing this book, I don't feel depressed or angry or like my heart has been ripped out like I usually do upon the end of a John Green book. I think it helped that it was a collaborative effort with David Levithan or perhaps JG really doesn't want to stomp on my feelings ALL the time.

It seems that with this book there's a divide between which Will Grayson people like more. It was honestly easy for me to tell that the intial Will was John's voice and that the second (I like to refer to him as troubled Will) Will is David's voice, though that was process of elimination being that I haven't read any of his other books. BUT after reading his excerpts and his ability to build a character, I'll definitely be looking into it. I digress. I really didn't favor one Will over the other. Perhaps because I liked and disliked them equally, the way you should like and dislike a character. They should be flawed people who do things that piss you off, but that can redeem themselves. Both of these characters are like that, I loved and hated them both on separate occasions.

I think we can all agree that the star of this book is Tiny. His personality is ridiculous (or as he would say fabulous) and sometimes so over the top that I have a hard time believing that could be a real person. But he is, he's the person who hides their bad moods and insecurities behind a smile and an uninterrupted stream of words. I think he's the person that most people can relate to because we all know that person or we are that person. We might not all know a Will Grayson, but we all know a Tiny Cooper.

I think I've decided the reason that I like JG is his ability to pack a punch. I can finish his books in a day and I don't feel cheated. I will carry this over as an expectation for DL as well once I read more of his stuff. But I wish that other authors would learn from this. A 500 page book isn't any better than one that's 200 pages if I don't feel anything at the end. I've digressed again, because this book just makes me think. And I appreciate that.

8/20/13
So, this book needs a legit publication date so I can go ahead and schedule an adequate amount of time for fangirling.

Julie, please don't hold out on us. I need this book like yesterday!!

As if I didn't already LOVE Julie Kagawa's previous works, this book just makes me want to simultaneously curl into the fetal position forever and worship at the alter that is Julie Kagawa. So many conflicting feelings. Where to begin?

This book is the sequel to [b:The Immortal Rules|10215349|The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden, #1)|Julie Kagawa|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1323357921s/10215349.jpg|15114912], a dystopian vampire story that took too vastly overdone YA genres and turned them on their head. Here we see our heroine Allison begin her journey to find her sire Kanin. Easier said than done, we quickly become reunited with some familiar faces, some that we wanted to see (*cough*ZEKE*cough*), some we would rather not see again (Jackal, Stick).

I really really will have to keep this short because there's honestly no way that I can write much without spoiling anything. I found this book well paced, with several tense moments, leaving me wondering what was going to happen next. Unlike a lot of books where the outcome is obvious and predictable, I was not able to predict what would happen here. I hoped for the best, and sometimes I got what I wanted. Often I didn't.

I listened to the end of this book in the car. I would not recommend this for two important reasons:

1. I beat on my steering wheel several times out of frustration/anger
2. Tears make it very hard to drive.

Anger, followed by tears, not a good mix when behind the wheel of a car. I dare anyone to jump into this book and not shed at least one tear within the last 30 minutes. Because that's where it gets you. By this time in most books, the climax as ended, and everything is drawing to a close. Julie does not afford us that favor. That's when she takes your feelings, rips them out, stomps on them, and then promptly ends the book. I'm not afraid to admit that I cried for a good 20 minutes during and after the book. THAT scene. You all who have read it know the one. Officially the nuclear bomb of feelings. I can't even talk about it anymore.

Is the next book out yet? No.... Ok well just leave me here to drown.

This is the first ARC I've gotten that I was honestly really excited about. And I'm very pleased to report that it was just as awesome as I was hoping that it would be. I've read several of Richelle Mead's books now. I think if I were to count them up it would be something around 13 of them, with this being numero 14. Alright lets do this.

Gameboard of the Gods takes place in a future world where a new regime as taken over called the RUNA where religion is banned in any form. The story centers around our main characters Justin March and Mae Koshinen who have been brought together by forces that neither of them are fully aware of.

The setting and world of the book is very well established without feeling like I was reading endless pages of background. I think Richelle took advantage of what we already know and picture about dystopian militaristic futures and used these images to help further build on her own take on this world. While this is a dystopian world in a way, I'm not sure I felt as fake so many others. Or perhaps her take is just more tolerable. This story hinges on religion and/or lack there of in this society. And I really don't like the dystopia genre because I think they fail to account for pivotal things like religion in a world suffering from a very recent collapse. When all else fails, religion remains. This story embraces religion and how it effects people's lives. Whatever you believe in or don't believe in, I would dare anyone to say there isn't some mention or effect of religion on their everyday life. I applaud Richelle for tackling this topic.

As characters go, I enjoyed them all immensely. Mae is very much a strong beautiful warrior (harkening back to Mead's other characters like Rose from [b:Vampire Academy|345627|Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, #1)|Richelle Mead|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1361098973s/345627.jpg|335933] and Eugenie from [b:Storm Born|2754510|Storm Born (Dark Swan, #1)|Richelle Mead|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327900947s/2754510.jpg|3159815]). I think my main issue with Mae is that I feel like she's combinations of other character traits Read's used before. I would love to see some more range for her female lead characters. Justin is a brilliant thinker with an addiction to gambling, women, drinking, and most any other vice you could think of. I enjoyed him as well, he reminded me very much of Adrian (more around the [b:Bloodlines|8709527|Bloodlines (Bloodlines, #1)|Richelle Mead|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1297199431s/8709527.jpg|13582374] part of that storyline) which wins him points in my book. I find their interactions complex, interesting, and believable. I do quite like the tension built there. Side characters were awesome as always, Leo, Dominic, Tessa, and Horatio and Magnus were ones that I particularly liked.

I thought the story was well paced, and it kept my attention. The story built to several very dramatic scenes and by the time it ended, I felt both satisfied as well as intrigued to know more. I'm looking forward to reading more of this series.

I'm not going to write much for this book. I really didn't feel connected to these characters or the story. It was just blah.

I wanted to like this book. No, I wanted to LOVE it. The first two are sitting happily on my favorites list, but somehow the end of this one just really really turned me off. I really can't pinpoint what it was.

I think I wanted to be ignore the whole tension between George and Shaun. But unfortunately it went the way I didn't want it to go, things got awkward, my ships sank, the clone coming back basically negates all the feelings I had for characters in the first two books, and if I hear anymore about how George needs a Coke, I'm going to punch someone. We get it, you're addicted and I bet you have cavities.

And I'm done. I loved my characters in the last books, I didn't like where it ended up.