I knew this novel was popular, and I knew going in that it had good ratings, yet I still wasn't sure if I would like it. Sci-fi is not a genre I pick up often nor one that I'm insanely attracted to, but I LOVED this book. The science and space elements were so in depth *for someone who barely passed any of her science courses in school & college* but I loved reading about these fragile concepts of space and physics I could barely wrap my head around. Ender's journey was mesmerizing. There was so much packed into this novel I couldn't read it all in one sitting like I wanted to. I needed to take breaks every 50-100 pages to let what I'd just read sink in. This was such an incredible story, plot, world building, and the curve balls just got better and better. Half way through reading this I stopped trying to even guess what would happen next and just accepted that I was going on an unpredictable ride. This novel left me with so many questions, but I'm not sure I want to continue with the series. I loved this book, but I'd kind of love to leave it how it is. For now, at least.

This was way more murder mystery and less Japanese/samurai culture than I was expecting, but I still really enjoyed it! Being one of the first strictly murder mystery novels I've ever read I flew through it, was able to follow the plot, and didn't correctly guess the killer! I'd rate this a 3.5 stars but have to round up for keeping me interested.

If things had taken a turn for the worse towards the end of this novel, I would be writing Leigh Bardugo a strongly worded letter right now instead of writing a review. This book was so good! I went in blind, only knowing that there were some magical elements and it was set in (what I'm considering) Russia. It was such a fantastic, quick paced read. I loved all of the characters, I never groaned at how our heroine behaved, and I'm so ready for more.

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD. LOOK AWAY WHILE YOU STILL CAN.






I'm not going to lie, I had to physically put the book down when in the first twenty pages our main characters got captured. We couldn't see them happy for more than twenty pages?! But Leigh, I'm going to call you Leigh, I feel like we've really bonded on this journey together, when Leigh gave me a pirate who was secretly a Prince all other qualms were squashed. I never knew I needed that troupe until I had it and couldn't get enough. And four men after our MC. That's a love quadrangle I've never read about before and I hated it way less than I expected. There was so much mental, physical, emotional action in this book and it had none of the typical book two downers. I in love with this series. I already want to start rereading it.

MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD. TURN AWAY NOW IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED.






I was prepared to have a good cry with this one, but it almost ended too perfectly. Don't get me wrong, I shed a few tears THROUGHOUT this last novel, but I was really preparing myself to be really pissed off and having to come to terms with how it ended. Instead it wrapped everything up in a nice little bow and I had happy tears instead. So...I'm confused? But I loved this series. I don't think the last book was my favorite. I read them so quickly, there is so much in my brain and in my heart right now that I need a few days to process. It was a really incredible story, I'm so happy I got to read it and marathon it! I'm excited for whenever I get a chance to reread this series because I KNOW there were subtle things I missed while speed reading to make sure all my favs made it to the end.

You can see the full review here http://akamissfiercereviews.tumblr.com/post/144622378790/dumplin-review

Initial Thoughts:

When I heard about this novel, I knew my reading experience could go one of two ways: it would remind me of myself and I’d love it, or it’d be mostly about snobbish pageant girls picking on the body confident fat girl and I’d hate it. When the actual reading experience ended up being a third and totally unexpected outcome, I knew I had to write a review and try to unscramble my many, many thoughts.

Spoilers! *and personal ramble*

Our main character has always been confident in her skin, even when society, in the form of high school jerks, yells at her that she shouldn’t be. Her mom is the head honcho of the towns beauty pageant, her idol is gives-no-s#*!s Dolly Parton, and the hot boy at work is falling in love with her. Everything makes sense in her life until he touches her. It’s not even him touching her that’s the problem, it’s him touching her fat. I’ve been there, I get that, but I never had the mental struggle this character does when she decides *spoiler-ish* she’d rather be alone than ridiculed every time she walked hand in hand with the hottest guy in the room (aka the guy she loved). I was waiting for our character to have some sort of revelation about being okay with herself, when really this novel follows her digression into the uncharted waters of self-conscious land. Call it pack mentality, or what have you, but I digressed right along with her.

I was expecting to feel uplifted, hopeful, and proud of who I am after reading this novel. Instead I felt defeated, hopeless, and depressed about my current situation. I’ve been on a mission to lose weight and get in shape since the New Year (yes, I’m that resolution-er). In the past 5 months all I’ve managed to accomplish was changing the shape of my legs *a little* and adding the slightest hint of muscle definition to my arms. This year is the first year I’ve worn a bikini in public, with any semblance of confidence (real or faked). I know I don’t have a desirable body. I know my friends might be thankful to have me standing there next to them on the beach, because I make them look better. I know I work my ass off in the gym, and the endorphins make me feel incredible. I know I can lift more than some of the guys who watch me, with confused looks on their faces, while I work out. I knew all of this and yet, reading this novel made me question myself. Are those things enough? Will it ever change how I look physically? Will I ever look the way I envision myself in my head and feel incredible about it? Or will I always see the fat friend in the mirror? By the end, I felt like I was resigned to be the fat girl, like my stomach is something I’ll never be able to overcome.

Despite my negative reaction to this novel, I don’t necessarily think it’s something we shouldn’t read. In a way, it’s darkly refreshing. To witness, through the written word, the internal struggles of a girl like me who is confident in her body, transition into uncharted territory is important. Life and the journey to body positivity is not all sunshine and rainbows. It is not a linear or exponential journey you can map out on a graph. The media might portray body positivity as the depressed fat girl becoming confident, but I’ve never seen a confident girl question herself the way our main character does. Watching our main character descend into her new self-conscious shell allowed me to start cracking through my own. Even though I went to a low point while reading this book, I think it was worth it. Even though I questioned my worth, my body image, and my own confidence, I’m now able to piece together what makes me matter.

I am more than my body shape. I am more than this cage that carries around my *if I may be so bold* amazing personality and my genuine soul. I am more. I deserve love. I deserve happiness. No matter how I look and no matter how others see me. I know I’m doing what’s right for me, even if my body (through your eyes) says otherwise.

Conclusion:

Books that make me think, that make me question what I know to be true, books that rattle me as much as this one did, are profound blessings in my life. I may have had a negative experience reading this book, but I learned something(s) about myself. Not all novels accomplish this task, and for that I am thankful. I’m not sure why Julie Murphy wrote this novel or what her intention was, but it was brutally honest and told a story I’m not sure everyone wants to hear. But that’s exactly why we should. Whether you agree or disagree with this message or the character’s journey, I think Dumplin’ is an important book that should be read and discussed.

Rating:4/5

***I received an ecopy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review***

Initial Thoughts:

When David Lamour (author of Fallen Angel) emailed me and asked if I would like to read and review this novel, I was cautiously ecstatic. Debut authors, as with anyone and anything, can be a hit or a miss. The premise of the novel was intriguing, and I knew if done correctly it would be right up my alley. I read the summary and reread the email, all the while checking for grammatical errors, and decided to give this one a shot. To say the least, I was excited yet skeptical, going into this novel.

Spoilers!

A few chapters into this book and I was in utter disbelief. The writing style, grammar, plot layout, all the technical elements I look for when determining the caliber of an author’s writing, far exceeded my expectations. I kept waiting for there to be a slip up, a misstep, or a poorly placed plot device. When I found none chapter after chapter, my excitement for this novel grew until I became a raving, giddy little reading reviewer. I began telling my friends what I was reading, how much I was enjoying myself, and how blindsided I felt by the quality of the craftsmanship used to create this novel.

Now for the nitty gritty: This novel follows a girl named Evelynn (Eve for short) as she deals with the instantaneous deaths of both her mother and father. She is forced to move to a small town with her aunt and uncle, and quickly catches the eye of the town’s star quarterback (Brandon). Initially, I groaned inwardly at this relationship, until I learned that our star quarterback had some substance and was more than just a pretty package. He had goals and aspirations beyond just tossing an inflated sack of air around (and he hand makes swords with his dad in his spare time)! I’ll be honest, the sword creation and the quality of Brandon’s moral character is what sealed the deal for me. I decided from that point on that he could stay, although I knew he wouldn’t last as our main love interest.

Here we began to form a love triangle. It was reminiscent of Bella, Edward, and Jacob, but not in an unlikable or plagiarizing way. Evelynn acquired a tutor; the smoking hot, mysteriously smart, kind of bad boy, Helel. Helel is playful, powerful, and attempts to show only a surface level of amusement or attraction to Evelynn. That is, until he comes to her rescue and saves her life. This novel did deal with a close encounter rape, so trigger warning for those who may be affected by such a scene.

As the summary of this novel announced, it follows the story of good and evil, Adam and Eve, angels and demons. I loved how this book flipped all the traditional and biblical norms on their heads, while staying true to what is literally written in the bible. Each chapter is headed off with a quote from either the book of Genesis or another related book from the bible. These quotes all tied in perfectly with what was going on in the chapter, and shed a little extra light on our characters’ motivations. I could not get enough of the warped deconstruction of the creation story and was forced, within myself, to create new definitions and subcategories of what it meant to be good or evil.

Conclusion:

My face hurt from smiling so much while reading all the interactions between Helel and Eve. Although some of the actions or revelations in the novel were predictable, others left me in the dust. This novel had action, love, mystery, history, and a new take on morality. I was beyond thrilled while reading it, and was in disbelief at how much I was enjoying myself. I was secretly waiting for the next chapter to disappoint me and it never did! I have decided to commit to this series, and will be anxiously anticipating the arrival of the next books!

Rating:5/5

You can view my full review here: http://akamissfiercereviews.tumblr.com/post/143698657810/demigods-and-monsters-review

I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This review contains spoilers!!!

Initial Thoughts:

There was so much personal anticipation going into Raye Wagner’s second novel. The cover was incredible, intriguing, and turned out to be a completely new, hunky, character! I was extremely excited to see what had come of our main character Hope and what she would be doing next: would she forgive Athan, did she run away, what was her new plan of action?

Spoilers!

The second novel picked up almost immediately after the first left off. Our main character Hope is in conflict with all the people in her life (Priska and Athan), and battling between what might keep her safe, what she feels compelled to do, and what other people think she should do. Within the first few chapters we meet our swoon worthy cover model, Xan. It’s pretty clear to the audience, as well as to Hope, that Xan is more than just a human. After getting some solicited advice from an actual Goddess, Hope decides to follow her initial compulsion and search for answers. This path leads her to the conservatory, and essentially into the enemy’s den.

I always enjoy stories that involve boarding schools. The dynamics between students of all ages (…but how long have you been seventeen?) when they’re forced to coexist, live, and learn together and teach one another are always fascinating. Xan becomes Hope’s mentor while she adjusts to life at the conservatory. Her main goal isn’t making friends, but scouring the library in search for the truth behind monsters and curses. This novel had a relatively heavy focus on being a reader and what that meant to individual people. I enjoyed the discourse between the characters on the importance of literature and the importance of being a reader.

While at the conservatory, surrounded by demigods, Hope begins uncovering some of their secrets. Monsters, like herself, aren’t as scarce as she and the general population are led to believe. Although demigods do hunt monsters, they are more like parole officers and less like the serial killers legends have made them out to be.

If you know me or have been following my reviews for a while now, you’ll know that the one thing I hate the most in literature are love triangles. I won’t deny the fact that Demigods and Monsters introduced a love triangle, but I will admit that I wasn’t actually bothered by it. I think this was one of the first instances where the love triangle actually works the same way it would in the real world *shocker*. In this instance, Hope learns some unpleasant facts about Athan’s past, while forming a solid friendship with Xan. What I love about Xan is that he openly admits to liking Hope, but willfully acknowledges that she still has feelings for someone else. He never pressures her into a physical or emotional relationship, he states that he is available, what his intentions are, and he lets her be and go at her own pace. When Athan returns the boys have glaring and verbal contests, but nothing as over the top as physical altercations occur to gain Hope’s attraction. Raye Wagner did an amazing job at creating a realistic love triangle and honestly, other authors should take notes if they want to use this trope in their own writing. In my years as a reader, this is the only way I’ve ever seen it done and thought, yes, this could happen and the characters are all being completely adult and respectful about it.

There were a few things about this novel that I didn’t enjoy as much. There wasn’t nearly enough action until the very end. In Curse of the Sphinx there was action in the beginning, little spurts of action throughout the middle, and bigger action sequences towards the end. I feel like Demigods and Monsters suffered from curse-of-the-second-book-syndrome, and it sacrificed action for plot.

Another thing I found myself annoyed with was the unrealistic emotional roller coaster our characters were on. In one moment, the characters would be discussing a completely neutral topic, and in the next breath be sobbing over something to occurred years ago. These instances felt out of place and caught me off guard. I often sped read through them and didn’t feel an emotional attachment to (or sympathize with) the character it was happening to.

The last thing I want to touch on with this novel was that it felt a little underdeveloped. It left me wanting more. I want to know more about the conservatory, about the library, about the Gods and their children. I want to dive further into the realm of mythology and understand the actions of the demigods in more clearly defined details. This novel felt more like an outline of events and less like a deeply developed history of the characters involved. I’m hoping in the next two novels we can see the discussion go from surface level to a deeper development of the world and history of these characters.

Conclusion:

Overall, this novel lacked a little something for me. For a majority of this book I would rate it a 3 out of 5 stars, but towards the end it definitely ramped up to a 3.5. This novel did leave me excited for what’s to come, but I’m hoping to see an improvement in the writing of emotional scenes, additional action sequences when necessary for the plot, and more depth to the world building and history of these mythical creatures. I’m excited to continue this journey with Raye Wagner, and possibly experience a trip with Hope to the underworld.

After my review of Curse of the Sphinx I recommended that novel to lovers of the Percy Jackson series and the Sweet Evil Trilogy. With Demigods and Monsters I recommend this novel again to Percy Jackson lovers and also to Twilight, specifically New Moon lovers.

Rating:

3 out of 5 stars. I would read this novel again.

Wow. I'm going to have to do a full review on this one. It was a 4, 4.5 for most of the story but overall, due to the effect this novel had on me, I can't give it anything below a 5.

You can see my full review here: http://akamissfiercereviews.tumblr.com/post/145187479065/the-summer-prince-review
***I won this book from IReadYA and Scholastic. However, all opinions are my own.***

Initial Thoughts:

I’ve honestly put off reading this book for years. I won it back in 2013, the same day I put my dog Lady to sleep. I guess I’ve had that negative association with this book (and the 6 others I won with it from IReadYA and Scholastic) ever since. I was also told by a friend and fellow reviewer, whose opinion I highly value, that this book was extremely underwhelming. Add all those factors together and I stayed far away from this, yet I was never able to convince myself to take it off my shelf. I was committed to at least trying it, and after the major reading spree I’ve been on this month, I decided why not close it out with something I was unsure about. Plus, with summer literally sweating down my back already, now seemed like the perfect time.

Spoilers!

I may have read the synopsis for this novel back in 2013, but going into this novel EXACTLY 3 YEARS LATER *I had that realization just this moment as I’m writing this post…I picked up this novel to read it exactly 3 years to the day after winning it and putting my dog to sleep…LIFE WHAT IS THIS BOOK MAGIC? WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME?* Where was I…? Oh, yes, I had no idea what this novel was about, and as I love to do, went in completely blind.

In my head, I call this book The Summer King, because that’s what Enki was. I feel so connected to this story, in so many ways, I’m actually having an extremely difficult time deciding where to start this review.

Art.

June, our main character, is an artist (the best artist in Palmares Tres). Everyone in this futuristic society has a talent for something: drawing, painting, dancing, singing, technology. What attracts June to Enki, aside from his raw beauty and charisma, is that he is like her. He will do literally anything for his art.

There was so much imagination and world building in this novel. The art that is described was so easy to imagine, so breathtaking and painstakingly beautiful. In this novel, art always had a purpose, it always had a deeper meaning, even when June was oblivious to that meaning herself. She’d create from her soul every time, without realizing what others might see when they looked at it. It was freeing, sad, and amazing to watch. We discovered who June really was, who she was becoming, and how she really felt through her art.

Death.

Everyone knows that the Summer King will die a year after he is crowned. Women rule in this society, which should have been great, since powerful women is kind of a must have for me in novels (more on this later). Their logic behind female power in society is that men caused the collapse of the world we, the readers, know today. The Aunties promise to never let that happen again, by allowing no man to have power, in any real sense of the word. For that reason, Enki must die, and he is fulling accepting of his fate. Enki embodies and embraces death, he greets it in every action every day, and he lives his life full of unrestrained purpose that is unparalleled by any other living person.

Enki is such a great reminder of how close we all are to death, and how that knowledge/acceptance/ignorance changes our actions. His character was so uninhibited, so calculative in his motives, so jarringly honest, it was truly haunting and beautiful to read.

In this futuristic society, medicine and technology have progressed so that people can live upwards of 200, in some extremely cases even 300, years old. When elders get to a certain age, they can choose to die (assisted suicide, if you will). June’s father chose this death, and she never forgave her mother for not doing more to stop him, or for attempting to move on with her own life by remarrying. Throughout the novel, as June’s relationship with Enki grows, so does her understanding of her mother’s actions (or lack thereof). She begins to dwell less in her past, and move her thoughts and focus outwardly. She becomes less concerned with her future, which she had a firm and unrelenting grip on through the majority of the novel, as she watches Enki’s inevitable death loom nearer with each passing day.

Politics.

For a novel about art and death, it dwelt heavily in the political sphere. Although powerful women (ESPEICALLY WOMEN OF COLOR…DID I MENTION THIS NOVEL IS SET IN FUTURISTIC BRAZIL?!) commonly elicit a HURRAH from any feminist in the room, this novel reminds us that feminism isn’t about women becoming more powerful or better than men. If you practice the true form and definition of feminism (noun: the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men) you support equality among the sexes. The Summer Prince shows women who are quickly on their way to becoming everything they fear most. It isn’t until the arrival of radical thinkers (Enki and June) in a tiny position of power, the power to spread their message and ideas to the masses, that any hope of balance is restored.

Generational Gaps: The old versus the new.

This novel shed a light on the age old debate about generation gaps. Everyone thinks that they know what is best. The older generation will insist that because they’ve lived longer they have more life experience, and therefore…you get the idea. The younger generation will argue that they have fresh eyes, open minds, and new technology that can make life safer/easier/better/insert-adjective-here. The Summer Prince shows us why we need both sides in order to form a well-rounded society, why a middle ground must be reached, and why we must be willing to listen and compromise with each other for the benefit of all.

LGBTQ+

This novel dealt with sexual partners, marital partners, any kind of partner really, in such an open way it was at first, rather shocking. To date, I’ve never read a novel that was so pro LGBTQ ideals, as if that has always been and always will be the norm. At first, they say that our Summer King sleeps with whomever he wants, with no one blinking an eye, because he’ll be dead in a year. Boys, girls, women, men 15 times his age, it doesn’t matter, they’re all fair game for the Summer King. When Enki falls in love with June’s best (male) friend Gil, and in many ways with her as well, it was more than hinting at bisexuality and the possibility of polyamorous relationships. I’m not able to do this description justice; labels simply did not exist, they didn’t matter. June’s mother married a woman after her father’s death, and there was no outrage that her mother was suddenly with someone of a different gender than her father. This novel’s take on sexuality and gender was so progressive it was less in-your-face, it simply existed.

Conclusion:

For a novel that is relatively short, there is so much to look at, soak in, and work through. I’ll definitely be thinking about this one for a long time, and rereading it to absorb anything I’m sure I may have missed. I can’t even say that I love this novel. It dealt with so many great issues that I honestly cannot wrap my mind around it. It’s a novel I want to think about for a really long time, but the more I think about it the more my head and my heart hurt. It was so passionate, so true, so raw, and so weird. It’s a novel I think I’ll forever be grateful for having read. I think everyone should give this a try, but I can see why this novel isn’t for everyone. I feel very lucky that it fit perfectly for me.

Rating: 5/5 Stars