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emilymahar's Reviews (483)
The Winner’s Curse is a book that takes some time to get completely enveloped in the story. But once you are, you’ll be unable to put it down. Beautifully written, Marie Rutkoski creates a world of characters and a romance that are captivating.
See what else I had to say about it on my blog: http://bookscleverness.wordpress.com/2014/05/19/review-the-winners-curse-by-marie-rutkoski/
See what else I had to say about it on my blog: http://bookscleverness.wordpress.com/2014/05/19/review-the-winners-curse-by-marie-rutkoski/
There was not a thing that I didn’t love about Since You’ve Been Gone! I’d heard wonderful things about it around the time of its release from fellow bloggers and decided that I needed to read this book and I needed to read it NOW. I was originally planning to save this one for a vacation or after my summer officially started, but boy am I happy I didn’t wait! Since You’ve Been Gone would have to be my favorite contemporary set in the summer (I can’t say favorite contemporary of the year because I loved To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before equally).
See what else I thought about Since You've Been Gone on my blog! http://bookscleverness.wordpress.com/2014/05/26/review-since-youve-been-gone-by-morgan-matson/
See what else I thought about Since You've Been Gone on my blog! http://bookscleverness.wordpress.com/2014/05/26/review-since-youve-been-gone-by-morgan-matson/
I am so happy that I read this book! I am still amazed about everything that happened within the pages of this book!
The story is amazing and I was so surprised at how quickly I got through this book! There was not a minute that I was bored and not entertained! The world building and detail made the story feel so real! My favorite part of the book was the characters, though.
Because there are so many characters in this book I'll just say that I loved the majority of the characters. They were the heart of the story and made it so interesting! My favorite character would have to be all of the BA females as well as Jon Snow and Eddard Stark!
Overall, it's worth the time spent reading! You will become enveloped in this amazing world!!
The story is amazing and I was so surprised at how quickly I got through this book! There was not a minute that I was bored and not entertained! The world building and detail made the story feel so real! My favorite part of the book was the characters, though.
Because there are so many characters in this book I'll just say that I loved the majority of the characters. They were the heart of the story and made it so interesting! My favorite character would have to be all of the BA females as well as Jon Snow and Eddard Stark!
Overall, it's worth the time spent reading! You will become enveloped in this amazing world!!
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Originally posted here: http://bookscleverness.wordpress.com/2014/06/16/review-lies-my-girlfriend-told-me-by-julie-anne-peters/
Lies My Girlfriend Told Me is a beautiful story about family, loss, love, and the amazing things that can come from the worst tragedies.
Originally, I was unsure about this book. I didn’t know how the author planned to deal with the fact that it followed a girl who was a lesbian. I was happy to see that it wasn’t about her coming out, or struggling with her sexuality, because who really cares? She’s a lesbian. So what? That’s fine by me. This was a contemporary through and through, following the main character’s coping with the loss of her girlfriend, and the effects it had on her, and everyone in her life.
The relationships between the main character, Alix’s parents, her brother, Joss, and of course Liana were portrayed so realistically. The distance that Alix’s family was feeling from her after the death of her girlfriend, the anger Joss felt toward the world, and the muddied feelings Alix had for Liana were expertly written.
This book touched on a lot of topics, but didn’t fully develop them. Many of them only skimmed the surface or were mentioned once or twice. I would have liked to have seen more development, which I feel would have made the story even more bittersweet and tragic.
Overall, Lies My Girlfriend Told Me is, like I just mentioned, a bittersweet story. If you’re in the mood for a more serious read, but not too deep, I’d definitely recommend this book.
Lies My Girlfriend Told Me is a beautiful story about family, loss, love, and the amazing things that can come from the worst tragedies.
Originally, I was unsure about this book. I didn’t know how the author planned to deal with the fact that it followed a girl who was a lesbian. I was happy to see that it wasn’t about her coming out, or struggling with her sexuality, because who really cares? She’s a lesbian. So what? That’s fine by me. This was a contemporary through and through, following the main character’s coping with the loss of her girlfriend, and the effects it had on her, and everyone in her life.
The relationships between the main character, Alix’s parents, her brother, Joss, and of course Liana were portrayed so realistically. The distance that Alix’s family was feeling from her after the death of her girlfriend, the anger Joss felt toward the world, and the muddied feelings Alix had for Liana were expertly written.
This book touched on a lot of topics, but didn’t fully develop them. Many of them only skimmed the surface or were mentioned once or twice. I would have liked to have seen more development, which I feel would have made the story even more bittersweet and tragic.
Overall, Lies My Girlfriend Told Me is, like I just mentioned, a bittersweet story. If you’re in the mood for a more serious read, but not too deep, I’d definitely recommend this book.
Originally posted here: http://bookscleverness.wordpress.com/2014/06/13/review-take-back-the-skies-by-lucy-saxon/
Special thanks to Bloomsbury USA Childrens for providing me an advance copy of this book for review!
Take Back the Skies was a fun book, but turned out to be something completely different than what I was expecting. What took me by surprise was the main character’s age. She was fourteen-turning-fifteen, and while written well, a YA book with a younger protagonist can be enjoyable to read, Cat’s voice felt even younger than her actually age. Lucy Saxon’s youth and inexperience with writing was obvious to me while reading. Cat seemed immature, naïve, and impulsive.
That being said, the story was interesting and entertaining. I immediately thought of Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan Trilogy after I began reading this book. Same ideas about a girl escaping disguised as a boy, steampunk-sky-themes, etc., going on. The book dragged at parts and was really predictable, but the writing progressively got better as the story continued.
One real problem I had with Take Back the Skies was the romance. It happened really fast and was not fully insta-love, but came very close to that line. Also the love interest was two years older than Cat. I’m not sure how to explain it but it seemed like Cat idolized Fox. He seemed much more mature than her, and therefore their romance just felt weird. I’ve seen others mention this in their reviews also – Fox was blatantly sexist. He was shocked by the fact that Cat could do things just because she was a girl, a wealthy one at that.
The one thing I did really like about Take Back the Skies was the ending. Lucy Saxon managed to shock me with this one!
Overall, Take Back the Skies is the perfect book for younger YA readers. If you’re older, I’d stay away so that you’re not disappointed. That being said, I did enjoy this one, but it was just a little too young for me.
2.5/5
Special thanks to Bloomsbury USA Childrens for providing me an advance copy of this book for review!
Take Back the Skies was a fun book, but turned out to be something completely different than what I was expecting. What took me by surprise was the main character’s age. She was fourteen-turning-fifteen, and while written well, a YA book with a younger protagonist can be enjoyable to read, Cat’s voice felt even younger than her actually age. Lucy Saxon’s youth and inexperience with writing was obvious to me while reading. Cat seemed immature, naïve, and impulsive.
That being said, the story was interesting and entertaining. I immediately thought of Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan Trilogy after I began reading this book. Same ideas about a girl escaping disguised as a boy, steampunk-sky-themes, etc., going on. The book dragged at parts and was really predictable, but the writing progressively got better as the story continued.
One real problem I had with Take Back the Skies was the romance. It happened really fast and was not fully insta-love, but came very close to that line. Also the love interest was two years older than Cat. I’m not sure how to explain it but it seemed like Cat idolized Fox. He seemed much more mature than her, and therefore their romance just felt weird. I’ve seen others mention this in their reviews also – Fox was blatantly sexist. He was shocked by the fact that Cat could do things just because she was a girl, a wealthy one at that.
The one thing I did really like about Take Back the Skies was the ending. Lucy Saxon managed to shock me with this one!
Overall, Take Back the Skies is the perfect book for younger YA readers. If you’re older, I’d stay away so that you’re not disappointed. That being said, I did enjoy this one, but it was just a little too young for me.
2.5/5
We Were Liars is written to be very mysterious, sometimes confusing. I felt a lot like I was in a daze while reading, like I’d just “come to” after being in a coma – a state of delirium. But I really loved E. Lockhart’s prose-like way of writing. Her style went along perfectly with the kind of book that We Were Liars is – a dark and dreamy one.
See what else I had to say on my blog here! http://bookscleverness.wordpress.com/2014/05/23/review-we-were-liars-by-e-lockhart/
See what else I had to say on my blog here! http://bookscleverness.wordpress.com/2014/05/23/review-we-were-liars-by-e-lockhart/
After reading and loving book one, Shadow and Bone, I had extremely high expectations for Siege and Storm. I am very happy to say that my expectations were met and it was just as wonderful as I had hoped!
Having not a bit of the second-in-a-series syndrome, Siege and Storm was beautifully written, filled with the same rich Russian fantasy that I adored in the first book. The story was filled with twists and surprises, leaving me thankful that I waited to read this one while I could read Ruin and Rising, book 3, as soon as I finished.
There were some new characters introduced that I absolutely loved. Most important: Sturmhond. Oh my goodness did I love him! Filled with clever, sassy and somewhat sarcastic remarks, he was a great foil to Mal, who I also adore. I had heard that Alina could find a possible love interest in Sturmhond and what I heard was correct. But, I’m still torn on my feelings. I’m pretty sure I remain loyal to Mal.
The Darkling, although not physically present throughout the bulk of the book, still created a looming presence that was very eerie and creepy, especially as the reader sees the story from Alina’s point of view. Some people find the Darkling sexy, but I just think of him as a really mentally messed up guy who needs to look for an obsession in someone closer to his age. Oh, and stop trying to destroy everything good in the world. But that’s just me.
All in all, if you’ve read Shadow and Bone but aren’t sure if you want to continue on with the series or not (If that’s you: what’s wrong with you?!), I’d definitely recommend you read Siege and Storm. Although fantasy is one of my favorite genres, I have yet to find a series that is addictive. But Leigh Bardugo with her amazing Russian fantasy has got me hooked and begging for more!
RATING: 4.5/5
TO SEE MORE OF MY REVIEWS, CHECK OUT MY BOOK BLOG!
Having not a bit of the second-in-a-series syndrome, Siege and Storm was beautifully written, filled with the same rich Russian fantasy that I adored in the first book. The story was filled with twists and surprises, leaving me thankful that I waited to read this one while I could read Ruin and Rising, book 3, as soon as I finished.
There were some new characters introduced that I absolutely loved. Most important: Sturmhond. Oh my goodness did I love him! Filled with clever, sassy and somewhat sarcastic remarks, he was a great foil to Mal, who I also adore. I had heard that Alina could find a possible love interest in Sturmhond and what I heard was correct. But, I’m still torn on my feelings. I’m pretty sure I remain loyal to Mal.
The Darkling, although not physically present throughout the bulk of the book, still created a looming presence that was very eerie and creepy, especially as the reader sees the story from Alina’s point of view. Some people find the Darkling sexy, but I just think of him as a really mentally messed up guy who needs to look for an obsession in someone closer to his age. Oh, and stop trying to destroy everything good in the world. But that’s just me.
All in all, if you’ve read Shadow and Bone but aren’t sure if you want to continue on with the series or not (If that’s you: what’s wrong with you?!), I’d definitely recommend you read Siege and Storm. Although fantasy is one of my favorite genres, I have yet to find a series that is addictive. But Leigh Bardugo with her amazing Russian fantasy has got me hooked and begging for more!
RATING: 4.5/5
TO SEE MORE OF MY REVIEWS, CHECK OUT MY BOOK BLOG!