Just as wonderful the second time around...
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The Glass Spare is an atmospheric, beautifully written fantasy book. In the beginning, I feared it would follow the path of basically every fantasy book ever and it really didn't. It introduced some wonderful things to the fantasy world, like magic systems that actually make sense and a world that's not stuck in the dark ages. It was such a breath of fresh air to see electricity and modern devices in another world. Usually, those two don't go together, but Lauren DeStefano made it work! A lot can be said about the world building too, which was so much stronger than many other fantasy books I've read. As well, I loved how there was a page that literally laid out the workings of Wil's power. That doesn't usually happen.

I was a little concerned when Wil met Loom and it becomes clear her power doesn't affect him because this part really reminded me of Shatter Me, which I didn't like. Shatter Me had the astute issue of everything feeling insanely contrived, with basically no explanation of why. Juliette couldn't touch anybody, but two boys come along...and suddenly she can touch them. So, needless to say, I wasn't overly happy when this turned around. However, as the book progressed, it became clear that DeStefano actually had an explanation for this turn of events, and I'm looking forward to seeing it carried through in the sequel. I saw some of the plot twists coming, but not all of them, so that was definitely a bonus, too! 

With that said, it didn't feel much like Shatter Me in any other aspect, so if you're worried about them being similar, they really aren't. The main similarity is the touching thing, but while Juliette killed people with her touch, Wil turns them to stone (and then they die). Similar, but The Glass Spare feels more thoughtful and is written ten times better. 

That leads me into my next point...that this book is so beautifully written. Every sentence was so poetic and strong. I will literally read anything DeStefano writes now, just for her writing; I don't even care if the book is about a topic I can't stand. I will read it.

"He had been nearly everywhere and brought back the world in tiny bits and pieces, neatly arranged in drawers and wedged between his books."

I also loved Wil. She is such a strong character with a really spunk to her. She loves her family, but she also loves herself (not completely, but a little). She's not perfect, but she's so much better than many other characters out there. She's the epitome of a strong female character and I can't wait to read more about her. I'm not completely sold on Loom yet, but I do like him so far. 

(And I'm also a sucker for hate-to-love).

As for Zay...I'm not quite so sure how I feel about her yet. She has the "mama bear" protectiveness for her son, which I do love, and for Loom, because they have a very complicated relationship. But I couldn't really latch onto her character, like I could the others. 

Then, there's Wil's family. I love Gerdie so much. He's such a precious cinnamon roll and he deserves the world. I hope to see more of him in the future!

So if you can't tell, I loved this book and highly recommend it!!

-Book Hugger

http://www.bookhuggerreviews.com

From the beginning of Obsidio to approximately 100 pages from the ending, this was a five star read...and then the ending happened and I became extremely disappointed. Of course 5/6 of the book being great meant it would still get rated around 4 stars, but keep in mind, the last bit was really, really disappointing to me. For the end of a spectacular trilogy, I was expecting a more drastic ending. I don't want to go in too much because of spoilers, but it wasn't to the caliber I expected. I'm not actually a sucker for happy endings. Sure, I want the characters to be happy, but...after three books, you're expecting a fair amount of casualties. Needless to say, I can't go into who didn't die and who did; however, I was disappointed with the way it ended too "nicely." And if there's one thing I hate, it's pretending your characters are dead and then bringing them back. Keep. Them. Buried.

Off of that, I think my final complaint is that there was too much surveillance footage and not enough of the other epistolary forms. I didn't think I'd hate the form that's most like an actual book when I started this series, but I like the other pieces much better, such as the group chats (hilarious) or the monologues from AIDAN (dramatic).

Speaking of which, the great moral dilemma with AIDAN was much appreciated. I love my morally grey characters! And I still stand by him not being a villain. That would be BeiTech. Not to mention, I HATE BeiTech with a fiery passion.

Anyway, I loved the characters of this one, especially how it followed our old favorites and two new ones, Asha and Rhys. I didn't think I'd fall for Asha and Rhys's love story either, but I stand corrected. Sure, it follows a lot of old tropes, but Rhys never once came across as an unhealthy person for Asha. For a series that pointedly doesn't follow a lot of tropes, I think I'll give it this one.

The plot continued to surprise me, with morally grey characters on either side of the fighting, and a dilemma between who was good and bad. I love these kind of topics! Is saving one person better than saving a million? Does it matter the person? (I think this came up a little, but it's also been a few months so...)

If you haven't tried this series, I highly recommend it. It wasn't the perfect conclusion, but I did love it anyway.

-Book Hugger

http://bookhuggerreviews.com

My first read of the year was an utter disaster, I say. I'm going to DNF books this year, I say. Everything sucks, I say, including this novel.

Look, this book isn't objectively awful, it's just not interesting to me. I struggled to connect to the main characters. While I knew going in that Xifeng would be an anti-hero, I expected to find her more interesting than she is, but she's really just a selfish girl whose sole personality trait is her ambition to be Empress. She is nothing else and that's incredibly boring to read about. Also her love-interest Wei did absolutely nothing for me. In fact, I found him to be rather awful to Xifeng. 

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns happens to be very well-written with a well-designed world. Although, this world is wasted on the first hundred pages and the rest of the novel is spent in a confined palace. This is a trope I'll forever be sick of: world-building that is not developed throughout the novel because the MC is thrown into a castle and locked there forever. See: The Bone Season. But anyway, I digress. I was fascinated by the world until the world was no longer relevant.

Furthermore, the first one-hundred or so pages could have been condensed into a quarter of that, but instead, we have a weird pacing result where the beginning is far too long and far too different from the rest of the novel. It was definitely not the most interesting part either, but again, I didn't find much interesting.

I think this book is a case of "it's not you, it's me." YA fantasy hasn't been working for me lately, anyway, but I still expected so much more from this book. Asian-inspired fantasy that's a retelling of the villain's arc in a famous fairytale? Sign me up! Except...it's not good at doing what it's supposed to do.

Girls of Paper and Fire felt very similar (not that them both being inspired by Asia makes them synonymous because that's not a hot take) in the tackling of female-centered spaces in an empire, especially with the inclusion of concubines. However, Girls of Paper and Fire doesn't resort to girl-hate and is a much better reflection on this part of the political worlds in their respective novels. 

Anywho, this book wasn't for me, but it seems to have been for lots of people! Don't be turned off, you may love it. I just...didn't. Part of me wishes this was a rant review because that would have been more interesting, but I guess the bottom line is that there's nothing completely horrendous about this book aside from it being incredibly boring. 

-Book Hugger

this. this made me smile. ronan at the end was so pure and him. i am pleased.

*grins from ear to ear*

I am so happy I got to meet Evelyn Skye and Yallwest. She is a sweetheart and I fell in love with The Crown's Game. A little background information here: I'm currently taking AP European History and I have loved nearly every minute of the class. This book is set in Imperial Russia, a period I studied myself, which made it a million times better. The great thing about this book is that it doesn't scream "historical fiction". It feels just like a fantasy book, but set to the backdrop of a riveting historical period. The history isn't overwhelming. In fact, it isn't even about the history at all. It just happens to be set in this period. Another great part, is that it didn't seem like most of the other young adult books out there. The writing was more mature and thicker, but never overwhelmingly so.

Though, I do have to say, the characters felt a little immature. The romance wasn't strong and Pasha seemed more of a caricature than a character. However, I can see this definitely improving as the story develops over the next book. (Is this a duology? I'm not sure). I still loved Pasha, don't get me wrong, I just felt like he was written to be someone much younger than he is. The romance seemed a little like insta-love too, which is a bit of a pet peeve of mine.

I'm team Nikolai, by the way. Because so far, I haven't met a fictional Nikolai I don't like.

What I liked about Vika is that she didn't need a boy to define her personality or beauty or talents. She was strong, with or without a man at her side. Thank you, Skye, for telling us that a girl doesn't need to be told she's beautiful to be powerful. Vika is strong--she's a warrior, but not the typical kind. I can see myself growing to like her through The Crown's Fate. At this point, I can't say I loved her, mostly because I didn't feel like I knew her.

Nevertheless, I'm giving this book five stars because I was thoroughly in love with this book. The plot was quick-moving, new, and captivating. I was on the edge of my seat...I didn't want to put this book down. I could 100% feel the effort Skye put into writing this book, from the research she did of Russian history to the magic system. I can't wait to see what she did with The Crown's Fate (which just came out and I happen to have sitting on my shelf right now!)

-Book Hugger

Check out my blog at http://www.bookhuggerreviews.com

Isla and the Happily Ever After is cute, insightful at times, I'll give it that, but it falls short of anything better. In fact, it defined the word "immature" for me. Isla (pronounced eye-la, which is a lot prettier than I initially thought) starts off as a sixteen (possibly older, I can't bring myself to find out because I'm lazy and frankly, do not care) year-old girl head over heels in love with a boy who doesn't even see her as a friend. I'm sitting over here flashing back to when I was head over heels in love with a boy who still doesn't care, despite being "friends" for some time. So why might I be hesitant to believe that he rather quickly falls in love with her back? Hmm, let's think, because it's SO SO SO UNLIKELY.

Ugh.

They then proceed to have a relationship that progresses rather quickly and has it's climactic "oh my god, it's the end of the world" moment in the middle of the novel, rather than the end. It felt rushed and overdramatic. I was cringing the entire time and wasn't overly sympathetic when the world was "ending" because, in all honesty, they deserved what happened to them. And it wasn't the end of the world. Sure, it did suck, but they'd both survive.

Then of course, I suffered through a good hundred or so pages of Isla pining after her boyfriend whom she couldn't see. Fun. Exciting. Riveting, in fact. Wrong. I do not need to read a million pages of a girl lovesick and devastated over a relationship that she'd had for possibly three months. Through this time, she managed to ignore her best friend and the only character (aside from the cameos of Anna and Etienne) who was of any value in this novel. Kurt was precious, adorable, and did not deserve any of what he was given. And there were hardly any apologies from Isla for her treatment of him. I would have walked away if I were him, but I guess that's what love does, even platonic.

Not to mention, Isla was insanely jealous of Josh's ex-girlfriend. Get. Over. It. He's not in love with her anymore. And for the record, I'm going to cringe and internally vomit whenever a rabbit is mentioned. Was that even necessary?

Anyway, this book did have enough benefits to knock it up to three stars. I considered it fairly cute, and liked Josh's character for the most part. The message it sent was fairly decent, about having a plan for the future and friendship. What I do love about Stephanie Perkin's books is that the morals of her books are usually rather strong and messages you don't see too often. While the one in Lola and the Boy Next-Door failed miserably, the one in Anna and the French Kiss and in Isla and the Happily Ever After succeeded well.

Not to mention, I think the mere existence of Kurt deserves a star. He's so precious. Plus, he has autism, and the one good thing about Isla is that if someone dislikes Kurt or treats him poorly she does something about it! 

-Book Hugger

For more reviews check out my blog at http://www.bookhuggerreviews.com

First off, I need to say something because I saw a review for this book that was really upsetting. This review said that they believed Riordan was pushing his political views onto his readers by including a lesbian couple.
Point one: Said lesbian couple played little to no role. (And secondly, Apollo is bisexual. This is Greek mythology. Denying the sexualities of these gods/goddesses would be like denying the Earth is round).
Point two: I have never been so happy to see a small marginalized character before. Rep is so hard to come by and while there's such a push for main characters of marginalized communities, people forget that background characters don't always need to be white and straight either. Sometimes it's the small representation that matters most.
I don't usually get angry over things, but this affected me more than most things usually do. I think I'm mostly pissed off because I expected better out of people. I thought that I lived in a world where including a lesbian couple that does nothing but be married wouldn't cause issues. I have a lot more I could say, but I don't want to cause more animosity with my anger. You cannot fight the fires of prejudice with the gasoline of anger.

ANYWAY, actual review:

Honestly, this was super disappointing. Anyone who knows me knows I love Rick Riordan's books. They're filled with much needed diversity, exciting plots, and hilarious banter. They're children's books at heart, but great for every age. This is the first Riordan book I recall disliking (correction: I hated The Lightning Thief when I was eight and then I reread it and loved it--I'm terrible). Obviously I liked it enough to give it three stars, but this was seriously disappointing.

I will say one thing: I've never been a fan of Riordan's writing style. It feels immature and cheesy. Not to mention, he spends half the time talking to the reader in nearly every book I've read of his. I honestly despise this style of writing because it leaves too many marks of authorship. I can't get lost if I'm constantly being reminded that I'm holding a book. For the most part, I can get past this qualm with the writing style because I love his characters, I love the humor, and I love the plot.

The writing style isn't the problem with The Dark Prophecy. Obviously, it's a factor in the rating drop, but it wasn't the key factor. Personally, it was the plot that caused the plummet in rating. Where was it? I searched everywhere for plot, but couldn't find it. The plot is nothing like that of The Hidden Oracle. I knew this would take off from Camp Half-Blood, but it took off in a direction I hadn't hoped for. Most of the book was spent searching for a kid I had no personal care for. It would have greatly benefited Riordan to show more than purely the effects of the disappearance, such as introducing the character earlier so we would get a gist of the character--become attached. I was not attached. And as a result, I did not care nor was I involved.

Some of the jokes lost their humor as well. Maybe I'm getting too old for his books, but I didn't find them all that funny. In his past books, I can usually find multiples that make me laugh out loud or at least chuckle inwardly. Cue the sound of crickets because there was no laughter here.

So what did cause me to give it any stars at all?

Without spoilers, that thing on the very last page was pretty exciting. If that was a marketing tool to get me to buy the next book when it comes out, it probably worked.

Then, also without spoilers, that seen with Meg toward the ending when Apollo was in her head. That was tragic. It gave me so many emotions and trust me, I don't usually get emotions that often. Ugh, that was literally the best part of this entire book; it was moving and emotional and AH.

“It's not how long you live that matters. It's what you live for.”

Other than those two things, I found Apollo's character development to be really strong and still found that usual Rick Riordan charm in there. But overall, it was extremely underwhelming and I wish I borrowed it from the library instead of purchased it...

-Book Hugger
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Okay, I'm going to go a little crazy here because I really, really hated Lola.

First, she's the most self-centered person on the face of the fictional planet. I swear, everything was Lola, Lola, Lola. Do other people exist in her world? Nope. Not unless it's for her benefit. For goodness sakes, Lola Nolan, you do not live in this world alone. And yet somehow Cricket, who is the most precious boy ever, dealt with it. I guess that's what love does to you, it makes you put up with things you wouldn't ordinarily. Love makes you a fool, trust me on that one.

Second, Lola led Cricket on. I don't care if she felt bad about it ever. She led someone on and coming from personal experience, it's not exactly fun. Continuing on Lola's self-righteous attitude, she never considered that her actions could hurt Cricket. It just made her feel better to be around him, so she did it anyway. I cannot and will not condone her actions.

Ultimately, it was Lola that caused this book to be rated three stars. The plot itself, which was largely unremarkable, would have earned four stars. I did enjoy Lola and the Boy Next-Door. I was captivated and I was head over heels in love with Cricket. I would never have made him wait for me because if I truly loved him, I wouldn't have needed to get over the jerk that I was dating before. Also on the list of people I hated in this book: Lola's boyfriend in the beginning of the book.

In the end, it wasn't a special book. Anna and the French Kiss was so much better and had ten million times the depth. I'll probably read Isla and the Happily Ever After because the cameos from Etienne and Anna make everything better. I hope I didn't get too angry with this review, but leading someone on is something I absolutely 100% cannot handle.

However, if you love boys who are as sweet as cinnamon rolls, give this book a shot. Maybe Cricket will steal your heart as well (and you can pretend Lola isn't in the picture).

-Book Hugger

For more reviews like this, check out my blog at http://www.bookhuggerreviews.com

“Even in its first faint traces, love could alter a landscape. It wrote unimagined stories and made the most beautiful, forbidding places.”

Wild Beauty is one of the most enchanting novels I have ever read. The prose is so beautiful and all-encompassing. This is what it means to be a magic realism book. There's that atmosphere to it that you can get lost in, the kind that feels like you're trapped somewhere in between the zones of reality. Time doesn't exist when you're reading magic realism, everything feels so distant yet close at the same time.

I really can't say there is a substantial plot to Wild Beauty though. It mostly follows the general "boy arrives, girls are surprised, why is boy here?" kind of thing. I felt like it was missing direction, which is honestly my main issue with this novel. If there were more of a clear path for this book to take, I think it could have been raised to 5 stars. I know that part of magic realism is the atmosphere, but I think there also needs to be something leading the book. I feel like the characters were just thrown into a place together with that inciting incident, but the story was more about their interactions and personal struggles afterward. 

I do admit, I was confused somewhere in the middle and wasn't sure if my questions would be answered, but by the end, I was fully satisfied with the explanations! The "why" of everything was rather far from what I expected and I really appreciated that there was a stronger reason for everything's occurrences behind it all. I finished the book with one or two questions, but I think those are more the fault of mine for missing something along the way. I'm sure if I reread it, I wouldn't be wondering about anything. 

Above all, I loved the message of Wild Beauty, which wasn't so much about romance, but about familial bonds, love in a general sense, and all the ways people love--even if it's not "conventional". This book is unapologetically feministic and diverse, both of which are so unseen in young adult novels. Though, I am glad to see a new outburst of diverse books--keep them coming! And it is oh-so refreshing to read a book that is almost entirely Latinx. So, thank you, Anna-Marie McLemore, for continuing to write novels for the underrepresented. 

I also loved Estrella and Fel with all my heart. Their relationship felt strong and gradual. Despite occurring over a short span of time, I didn't get a sense of insta-love from it (though, I have seen some reviews that disagree). I really appreciated that they both were clearly defined as their own individuals, neither being overwhelmed by the other and pushed to the side. There was a strong sense of equality in their relationship. I also loved that the stereotypical roles were reversed, where Estrella became the assertive one and Fel the more passive one (though never portrayed negatively). 

Lastly, this book really made me want to have a flower garden. I loved how all the character's names correlated to the flowers they grew. That was such a wonderfully creative inclusion. The descriptions of the flowers too...it just made this book feel so much more beautiful.

If you read only a few books in 2018, make Wild Beauty one of them. I urge you to read about these wonderful flower children and the garden of La Pradera that feels almost like a character itself. 

And let me quickly just say that this is literally the best bisexual rep I have ever read in my entire life and my heart is so absolutely warm from it.

-Book Hugger