Cruel Beauty Review

Hey Guise,
I'm sorry for not writing for a while. I've been to busy and preoccupied with life to write a review. Unfortunately, I have not read any books within the past two weeks. So....

I'm sooo uber sorry for not responding at all.

    Luckily for you guise, I have a review today. As far as you guise know, before Ash Wednesday, I bought three books. One of them was Cruel Beauty by Rosemund Hodge. I was interested in this book because many people in the Booktube community were getting the book and I was also drawn into the story line since it mentioned the key words assassin and Beauty and Beast. I was interested on how it was a twist on the fairy tale story of Beauty and the Beast. Though I have never read any other adaptations of Beauty and the Beast, I have read vast adaptations of fairy tales. (Mainly Cinderella because its my biased fairy tale out of fluffiness.) Since I like fairy tales, I was willing to give this a try. Walking into this book, I had high expectations.

Gorgeous cover. Pretty as a red rose.

      Before I review the book, here's the basic summary: Nyx Triskellion is a princess who's destiny is to save her country. After a her father's foolish deal with the Demon Lord before Nyx's birth, she was destined to marry him and kill him for her dead mother and her country. As she turns seventeen, she must leave all familiarity behind to marry the Demon Lord. Nyx resents her family for leaving her alone and hate herself for not escaping her faith. But her husband Ignifex is not what she expected. While attempting to defeat him, Nyx feels herself drawn closer to him. Even if she falls in love with her sworn enemy, she must choose between saving her kingdom or being with the man she loves.

   Alrighty, when looking at this book at first glance, it felt like reading Beauty and the Beast, Bluebeard and other fantasy novels into a blender. Honestly, I'm not sure how optimistic I could be with this book. I usually try to find the positives in a book before negatives, but I really don't know what to say. First of all, Nyx is an aggravating, frustrating character. Her so-called "assassin" training for all her life was merely her sister giving her an untouched blade and the times her and her sister were playing with knives. She also failed to seduce her husband. (Correction, her seduction training seemed to be given in a mere day before her wedding.)

   Secondly, I did not understand the full situation with The Gentle Lord Ignifex and Shade, his shadow. I understand that they are two parts of a whole and serve a purpose, but I was not pleased with Nyx suddenly fall in love in one day and be in love with somebody else another day. Shade apparently loves Nyx, but brings her to a chamber that nearly kills her. Ignifex is the typical manipulative love interest, but suddenly becomes more sympathetic in the end. Since Ignifex had eight wives before Nyx, did the same thing happen as it did with Nyx or were they killed for some other particular reason.

  Third, besides her father's unwise decision and treating her as a mere pawn over a daughter annoyed me, the rest of the family is not so great. I feel like Nyx's aunt was giving advice that does not even work at all. I didn't understand Nyx's sister. Of course Nyx hates her due to the her staying and her constant happiness. It seemed as if she became another person from Nyx insulting her on the wedding day. I did not understand it at all. Then she's happy again after Nyx returns. Where is this story going?

I give up!

     Honestly, I wanted to like this book but I could not like it. I struggled with the first few chapters and rushed on the last few chapters. I felt like this concept could have been executed better but it was what it was. I hope this review does not influence your decision. If I didn't like this book, perhaps another person would like this book. I'm human anyways. 

Later guise,

Neko

Divergent Book Review

Hey guise,

Today's post is about Divergent by Veronica Ross. Yeah, I am aware that this is coming soon as a film. There was a whole entire explanation of how I am jumping on the bandwagon on the March TBRs. So...yeah.

 In Beatrice Prior's world, Chicago is a society is divided into five factions, Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful) and Erudite (the intelligent). Every year, 16 year olds must take an exam to figure out which faction will the devote the rest of their lives to. For Beatrice, the decision between staying with her family and being who she really is, she can't have both.

  As Beatrice takes the exam, it is concluded that her results are inconclusive. Beatrice attributes qualities for Erudite, Dauntless and Abnegation. When the day of the faction ceremony arrives, Beatrice makes a shocking decision that would change her life forever.

    Yeah, I know this is a short summary. Due to the events of the film coming out March 21, I will not be revealing anything else. I really liked this book. Honestly. As a person who's starting to delve into dystopian novels, I felt like it was great. It was very well explained and put into detail. I also was surprised with some of the twists that happen in the novel and the context of how some factions do not like each other. I liked how Tris was strong willed but was somewhat vulnerable. She would be the type of person I would like to have as a friend. I felt like I could connect to her compared to other female dystopian protagonists. I will probably jump into Insurgent as soon as my book ban ends.

   Til' later,
   Neko

Percy Jackson Overview and Other Stuff

Hi guise,

Today's blog is about the Percy Jackson series. I decided to take a swing at the series during my winter break from school after looking at the books curiously at Target and a suggestion from a friend. Before I read the series, I watched the first film Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief on Cartoon Network. At the time, I thought the movie was awesome and I kinda forgot about it. After reading the book the film was based on and watching comparison videos, I realize that the film and the book are separate entities with a similar background.


    This is my was supposed to be my last post of February. But it's March now so....  I can't post much reviews because I do not have enough time to read the books I want. So yeah.....

Too stressed from school!

         Starting of with the series, I read The Lightning Thief.

First book in the series!

       This is the book that started it all. Where Percy finds out his origins and his destiny. 

Percy Jackson is a 12 year old with dyslexia, ADHD and a reputation of getting kicked out of every school he's attended. His life changes after he was attacked by his substitute math teacher in a field trip. He is taken to Camp Half-Blood, where he finds out his destiny as a demigod and the son of Poseidon. When Zeus' lightning bolt goes missing, Percy is blames as the lightning thief. With his friends Annabet

h and Grover, he goes on a journey to find the lightning bolt and clear his name.

     

  Next in the adventures of Percy Jackson

    

      Continuing the series, we now find Percy with a cyclops half-brother named Tyson. Grover is held captive by a cyclops in Florida and is trying to stall his "marriage" to the cyclops. Along with that, Thalia's tree on Half-Blood Hill is poisoned and Chiron is stripped from his position after being suspected. Clarisse from Ares Cabin is then sent to find the golden fleece to heal the tree. Percy, Annabeth and Tyson go on their own journey to save Grover and find the fleece to save Thalia's tree.

     

More Half-Bloods introduced. Yeah!

     Percy, Annabeth and the recovered Thalia go on a mission to lead half-blood siblings Bianca and Nico to Camp Half-Blood. While being attacked by a manticore, the goddess Artemis and her hunters come to save them. Things change as the hunters stay in Camp-Half Blood and Bianca joining them. Artemis suddenly goes missing, leading for Percy and his friends to find her since she is a crucial vote in the war against the titans. Along with that, Percy will have to solve a mystery of a rare monster Artemis was hunting that could possibly destroy Olympus.

    After the last events of the book, Percy is trying to have a normal high school life. As soon as he enters the school, he ends up in a fight with monster disguised cheerleaders in the band room. Having to flee, Percy takes refuge in Camp Half-Blood. Since the last events, Grover's searchers license is put into question after his meeting with Pan. He must find Pan within seven days to keep his license. Along with that, Annabeth has a desire to find Percy receives startling visions of Nico summoning spirits with McDonald's Happy Meals. 

The group must enter a labyrinth to stop Luke and Kronos. 

An epic finale to and epic series.

     A year after Percy's last battle with Kronos, he is enjoying his summer with his friend, Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Percy is suddenly whisked back into Calf-Half Blood to face the battle and the prophecy surrounding him. Faced with Kronos taking over New York City and Olympus, Percy and his friends must find a way stop Kronos once and for all.


     Let me be clear, this review will be short. I somewhat forgot the ideals of why I like Percy Jackson since I have been busy with other things and life. I read the first four books within each other in January and waited a month to buy the final book. This books series reminded me of books from childhood. (Actually this should have been my childhood since I was in 5th grade when the first book came out.)

   The first book, The Lightning Thief was alright. Since I watched only the first film before reading that book, I couldn't connect to it well as I should have but, I still like this book. The second and third books, The Sea of Monsters and The Titan's Curse, I generally liked better than the first book and felt even more of an urge to go into the series. The fourth book, The Battle of the Labyrinth was alright but I wasn't 100% fully into the book and the final book, The Last Olympian is my particular favorite out of the whole series. I could not put it down and everything that was building up in the whole entire series was answered at the end. I overall would give the overall book series a four out of five stars and perhaps relive the whole entire series again during summer vacation.

Til later,
Neko

March TBRS

Hi guise,
Today's post is a list of TBRS I will try to attempt in March. As of March 6, I will be on a book buying ban until Easter Sunday. (Rough 40 days and 40 nights without buying new books.) Since a couple of YA books are all being adapted into films, my TBR list will include Divergent by Veronica Roth and Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.

Finally jumping the bandwagon because of the film.

          I honestly could have read this series in high school. My high school library had every book in the whole entire series. Seriously, the world of YA was seriously a different place a few years ago. Because of the buzz on Twilight and Gossip Girl, most of the books I looked at in a bookstore were mainly between popularity and vampires such as: Blue Bloods, Vampire Kisses, The A-List, The Clique, Vampire Diaries and etc. Because of the buzz around vampires, I really refused to read anything with vampires with the exception of Vampire Kisses because I was drawn to it by it's manga.

     Now in today's world, I am trying Vampire Academy because I like the story. Lissa is a special vampire princess called Moroi with special powers. Rose is her best friend, protector and a Damphir. Two years ago, the both of them escaped their school, St. Vladimir's  Academy. Rose's job as Lissa's protector is to protect her from the Strigoi, a group of vampires who will do anything to get Lissa to be one of them. But inside the gates of St. Vladimir's danger lurks as the Strigoi are close and near.

Bandwagon again.

     This is the second book on my TBR list. Around March 14, it will be released. I bought it because I was intrigued by the story as well. I knew this kinda existed around the time in high school, but around that time, dystopian novels were starting to come out. My public library didn't have dystopian back then as they have now. 

   In Tris' world, Chicago is a society is divided into five factions, Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful) and Erudite (the intelligent). Every year, 16 year olds must take an exam to figure out which faction will the devote the rest of their lives to. For Tris, the decision between staying with her family and being who she really is, she can't have both. 

   I'm not going to put up the full summary for Divergent, due to the movie coming out and most people will be reading the book. Plus, I'm tired right now. I've been trying to finish this list as quick as possible, but was either tired or unmotivated. 

   Additionally, I bought The False Prince and The Runaway King by Jennifer A. Nielsen in Barnes and Noble and hauled Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien and Visions in White by Nora Roberts in a local thrift shop. 

   Later,

   Neko