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wordsofclover's Reviews (2.16k)
I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.
Ugh, I don't know why I found this book so hard to read. On paper, it should be good, it's about a young girl with a destiny trying to save her mother from a pack of hungry demons and a quest through a strange and wonderful world. Why didn't I love it?
I think my problem was this book was just too much for me. It was trying to be serious and funny and eccentric and young adult and romantic all at the same time and I just couldn't deal. Parts of the fantasy world, attached to the real world, reminded me of the Discworld seen in Terry Pratchett's books. However, I feel like Pratchett was the only person who could get away with such a mix of weird and wonderful. In this book, it felt like it was trying too hard and I just felt tired and breathless. There didn't seem to be much breathing space between obstacles. They defeated one monster, and another appeared right around the corner. I just couldn't enjoy the book, and was relieved when I finally finished it.
Ugh, I don't know why I found this book so hard to read. On paper, it should be good, it's about a young girl with a destiny trying to save her mother from a pack of hungry demons and a quest through a strange and wonderful world. Why didn't I love it?
I think my problem was this book was just too much for me. It was trying to be serious and funny and eccentric and young adult and romantic all at the same time and I just couldn't deal. Parts of the fantasy world, attached to the real world, reminded me of the Discworld seen in Terry Pratchett's books. However, I feel like Pratchett was the only person who could get away with such a mix of weird and wonderful. In this book, it felt like it was trying too hard and I just felt tired and breathless. There didn't seem to be much breathing space between obstacles. They defeated one monster, and another appeared right around the corner. I just couldn't enjoy the book, and was relieved when I finally finished it.
2.5 Stars
I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.
April is an introvert and her best and only friend just moved schools. April doesn't know what she's going to do until she meets the new boy Jonah. They immediately hit it off and become an item but before long April notices that Jonah is changing. Jonah is diagnosed with schizophrenia and enters a pyschiatric facility, with April supporting him the whole time.
So, I had some expectations for this book and I can't say it met them all. The book's plot sounds really interesting and I've never read a book that focuses on schizophrenia so I was really interested to dive in. There were some emotional bits in this, and overall I think Jonah's struggle with his illness was well-documented, I had some problems with it as well.
1. Insta-love. Jonah and April's realtionship seemed to happy VERY quickly. They went to 5-100 in a week and within two weeks she was telling her friend that she thought he loved her. You're fifteen and going out two weeks and haven't even kissed him, jeez!
2. Bullying. There was so much horrible bullying in the school, it was awful to read. At no point did it seem that teachers, even though the teachers were suppose to be excellent in this school, did anything to stop the bullying.
3. General reaction to mental health was really poor and disturbing from Jonah's mother's reaction to the doctor mentioning psychosis to Jonah's dad WHO IS A DOCTOR saying things like "counselling crap" and basically belittling all psychiatric help. Like the boy is talking about mental probes and government spying and you think there's nothing wrong with him and you're going to storm out of a doctor's office, okay then. His first psychiatrist is often treated like the villain as well. She may not have been the best match for Jonah but she was still only doing her job.
4. At one point, April and Jonah's teacher starts discussing Jonah's changes to April and weird things he said in his homework BEFORE discussing anything with Jonah's mother. I really don't think this would ever happen or be allowed. Discussing one student's mental or physical health with another, even if they're his girlfriend, before discussing it with the student's parent would be a big no no in my books.
5. April is really stupid for a lot of this book, lying to Jonah's parents, teachers and counsellors about his behaviour. She is the person he really trusts and talks to and yet she never speaks up about it so they can help him better. And despite knowing his diagnosis, she doesn't really do much research on it.
6. April's attitude towards her best friend is pretty despicable. As soon as Jonah was on the scene, she dropped her best friend like a hot potato and lost any interest in her life. Kris had moved away and made a huge effort to continue seeing April yet April ignored her for most of the time, even before Jonah got really sick. She pretty much broke all the rules of Girl Code.
I did like April's project at the end and the reality she showed her classmates, as well as the statistics. I also loved the fact that she mentioned how people with illnesses such as cancer get the support of the whole community but people with mental illness are often shunned because people are scared of them.
I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.
April is an introvert and her best and only friend just moved schools. April doesn't know what she's going to do until she meets the new boy Jonah. They immediately hit it off and become an item but before long April notices that Jonah is changing. Jonah is diagnosed with schizophrenia and enters a pyschiatric facility, with April supporting him the whole time.
So, I had some expectations for this book and I can't say it met them all. The book's plot sounds really interesting and I've never read a book that focuses on schizophrenia so I was really interested to dive in. There were some emotional bits in this, and overall I think Jonah's struggle with his illness was well-documented, I had some problems with it as well.
1. Insta-love. Jonah and April's realtionship seemed to happy VERY quickly. They went to 5-100 in a week and within two weeks she was telling her friend that she thought he loved her. You're fifteen and going out two weeks and haven't even kissed him, jeez!
2. Bullying. There was so much horrible bullying in the school, it was awful to read. At no point did it seem that teachers, even though the teachers were suppose to be excellent in this school, did anything to stop the bullying.
3. General reaction to mental health was really poor and disturbing from Jonah's mother's reaction to the doctor mentioning psychosis to Jonah's dad WHO IS A DOCTOR saying things like "counselling crap" and basically belittling all psychiatric help. Like the boy is talking about mental probes and government spying and you think there's nothing wrong with him and you're going to storm out of a doctor's office, okay then. His first psychiatrist is often treated like the villain as well. She may not have been the best match for Jonah but she was still only doing her job.
4. At one point, April and Jonah's teacher starts discussing Jonah's changes to April and weird things he said in his homework BEFORE discussing anything with Jonah's mother. I really don't think this would ever happen or be allowed. Discussing one student's mental or physical health with another, even if they're his girlfriend, before discussing it with the student's parent would be a big no no in my books.
5. April is really stupid for a lot of this book, lying to Jonah's parents, teachers and counsellors about his behaviour. She is the person he really trusts and talks to and yet she never speaks up about it so they can help him better. And despite knowing his diagnosis, she doesn't really do much research on it.
6. April's attitude towards her best friend is pretty despicable. As soon as Jonah was on the scene, she dropped her best friend like a hot potato and lost any interest in her life. Kris had moved away and made a huge effort to continue seeing April yet April ignored her for most of the time, even before Jonah got really sick. She pretty much broke all the rules of Girl Code.
I did like April's project at the end and the reality she showed her classmates, as well as the statistics. I also loved the fact that she mentioned how people with illnesses such as cancer get the support of the whole community but people with mental illness are often shunned because people are scared of them.
I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.
I'm not totally sure what I just read bit that doesn't mean I hated it. A History of Glitter and Blood is a very weird book about a fairy-dominated city called Ferrum entering into a war with the gnomes who eat fairies and live underground. All the fairies run away except a pack of the youngest and mostly-limbed fairy children - Scrap, Beckan, Cricket and Josha. However, something terrible happens when Cricket is killed by the Gnome King and Scrap and Beckan have to live with the consequences. And then they meet some new friends and for the first time, it looks like peace might be something that could happen.
This book is told in a strange way that definitely takes some time getting used to. Throughout the book, Beckan and Josha mention how Scrap is always writing and before long it becomes clear that what we are reading is what Scrap is writing. So the story is often interrupted by some of Scrap's musings about Beckan or just him grumbling or giving out to himself. While at first it was confusing, I got used to it and eventually ended up liking it. I liked Beckan and particularly liked Scrap though Josha took a bit of time for me to warm up to as I felt, apart from his grief over Cricket, he was a rather flat character.
There are parts of the book that, among the weirdness, are extremely beautiful especially the inter-species relationship between the pack, Piccolo, Tier and Rig. I also loved hearing about the different creatures that lived in the world from the glitter-covered, otherwise normal, fairies, the rope-spitting two-toed tightropers, the backpackers who have to carve their babies out of their backs at the cost of their own lives and the sharp-toothed, fairy-eating, but surprisingly gentle gnomes. I'm not sure if this is a book I would recommend but it was definitely a book I found myself surprised by enjoying!
I'm not totally sure what I just read bit that doesn't mean I hated it. A History of Glitter and Blood is a very weird book about a fairy-dominated city called Ferrum entering into a war with the gnomes who eat fairies and live underground. All the fairies run away except a pack of the youngest and mostly-limbed fairy children - Scrap, Beckan, Cricket and Josha. However, something terrible happens when Cricket is killed by the Gnome King and Scrap and Beckan have to live with the consequences. And then they meet some new friends and for the first time, it looks like peace might be something that could happen.
This book is told in a strange way that definitely takes some time getting used to. Throughout the book, Beckan and Josha mention how Scrap is always writing and before long it becomes clear that what we are reading is what Scrap is writing. So the story is often interrupted by some of Scrap's musings about Beckan or just him grumbling or giving out to himself. While at first it was confusing, I got used to it and eventually ended up liking it. I liked Beckan and particularly liked Scrap though Josha took a bit of time for me to warm up to as I felt, apart from his grief over Cricket, he was a rather flat character.
There are parts of the book that, among the weirdness, are extremely beautiful especially the inter-species relationship between the pack, Piccolo, Tier and Rig. I also loved hearing about the different creatures that lived in the world from the glitter-covered, otherwise normal, fairies, the rope-spitting two-toed tightropers, the backpackers who have to carve their babies out of their backs at the cost of their own lives and the sharp-toothed, fairy-eating, but surprisingly gentle gnomes. I'm not sure if this is a book I would recommend but it was definitely a book I found myself surprised by enjoying!
While I totally respect the quality of Neil Gaiman's writing in this book, I just don't think that this one was for me. It wasn't something I enjoyed overall, and I don't think I would have been pushed to finish it so quickly if it wasn't' for the fact I'm participating in a readathon this week.
I feel like if this book ever made it to TV screens, it would all be in black and white...because it's so gloomy and depressing. There's not really any character that's bright and cheerful or even a character that I overly liked at all. But at the same time, I didn't loathe any character either, even Mr Town or Mr World.
For a while, it didn't seem if there was any real plot in the book, it seemed to go back and forth for a while with a big scribbling mess in the middle. Very confusing.
I felt the aspects of old gods VS new gods extremely clever, especially considering the new gods ranged from the railroad, to vehicles, and then TV and the internet.
All in all, not a book I would be rereading. I wasn't even pushed to read the novella in the end. I'm giving this three stars instead of two because I can appreciate the fact that Gaiman is an incredible writer. This story, personally, just wasn't one for me.
I feel like if this book ever made it to TV screens, it would all be in black and white...because it's so gloomy and depressing. There's not really any character that's bright and cheerful or even a character that I overly liked at all. But at the same time, I didn't loathe any character either, even Mr Town or Mr World.
For a while, it didn't seem if there was any real plot in the book, it seemed to go back and forth for a while with a big scribbling mess in the middle. Very confusing.
I felt the aspects of old gods VS new gods extremely clever, especially considering the new gods ranged from the railroad, to vehicles, and then TV and the internet.
All in all, not a book I would be rereading. I wasn't even pushed to read the novella in the end. I'm giving this three stars instead of two because I can appreciate the fact that Gaiman is an incredible writer. This story, personally, just wasn't one for me.
3.5 Stars
I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.
Spelled is a whirlwind, fun and whimsical ride into the land of fairytales and fairytale princesses where the Emerald princess is Dorothea. Because of a curse laid upon her family a long time ago that threatens that an Emerald princess could turn evil, none of them are allowed to live their castle...ever. And Dorothea is sick of it. After a disastrous ball including a stalker magician, a weird munchkin girl and the announcement she's getting married to some handsome but annoying stranger, Dorothea makes a wish and it comes true. Now everything is upside down and Dorothea, her fiance-turned-hairy beast and a sulking servant girl have to try and fix it.
This was just a lot of fun. The kind of book that you can read really quickly and serves you up some quick bursts of laughter throughout. There were so many clever things put into this book that were reminiscent of our real life such as the Castle Shopping Network, the storage cloud (real clouds in the sky), ebooks (enchanted book) and the band Wrong Direction and their hit single 'My Spell's What Makes You Beautiful'. I'm a sucker for these clever and amusing pieces in fairytale retellings.
Dorothea is not a character you warm up to quickly. She's spoilt and stubborn and cares a lot more about her clothes and shoes than she does for people around her. She mistook her fiance as a gardener on the first occasion she met him and hardly knows any of her servants names. But there's something about her that you have to like. Overall she's plucky and her journey into damsel in distress to butt-kicking flame-haired (literally) princess is great to follow. I also enjoyed her relationship with Kato and how it developed.
I wish there wasn't quite so much of characters stabbing her in the back but it all made for an interesting read and I can say that overall I was entertained by this book. If anyone loves a good fairytale retelling, give this one a go!
I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.
Spelled is a whirlwind, fun and whimsical ride into the land of fairytales and fairytale princesses where the Emerald princess is Dorothea. Because of a curse laid upon her family a long time ago that threatens that an Emerald princess could turn evil, none of them are allowed to live their castle...ever. And Dorothea is sick of it. After a disastrous ball including a stalker magician, a weird munchkin girl and the announcement she's getting married to some handsome but annoying stranger, Dorothea makes a wish and it comes true. Now everything is upside down and Dorothea, her fiance-turned-hairy beast and a sulking servant girl have to try and fix it.
This was just a lot of fun. The kind of book that you can read really quickly and serves you up some quick bursts of laughter throughout. There were so many clever things put into this book that were reminiscent of our real life such as the Castle Shopping Network, the storage cloud (real clouds in the sky), ebooks (enchanted book) and the band Wrong Direction and their hit single 'My Spell's What Makes You Beautiful'. I'm a sucker for these clever and amusing pieces in fairytale retellings.
Dorothea is not a character you warm up to quickly. She's spoilt and stubborn and cares a lot more about her clothes and shoes than she does for people around her. She mistook her fiance as a gardener on the first occasion she met him and hardly knows any of her servants names. But there's something about her that you have to like. Overall she's plucky and her journey into damsel in distress to butt-kicking flame-haired (literally) princess is great to follow. I also enjoyed her relationship with Kato and how it developed.
I wish there wasn't quite so much of characters stabbing her in the back but it all made for an interesting read and I can say that overall I was entertained by this book. If anyone loves a good fairytale retelling, give this one a go!
I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.
When James Hook was twelve years old, he really looked forward to becoming a student in Eton College and learning to be a man just as good as his father. That is, until, he meets a strange pixie-like boy in Kensington Gardens. Peter Pan manages to convince James Hook that perhaps growing-up isn't a good thing after all, and he allows Pan to take him to Neverland for a short holiday.
If you've ever wondered how a man like James Hook ended up on a magical island where children never grow up, this is a story for you. I really loved this take on the story. Presenting James Hook as a rather misunderstood hero is a rather genius idea, especially for anyone a fan of Once Upon A Time.
Never Never really brings into play all the wondrous ideas we all have of Peter Pan, the endless play, the cheeky smile, the amazing imagination. But, it also introduces some more sinister things as well. The manipulative nature of Pan - he tricked James Hook into flying to Neverland, and then, disgusted that James didn't think the same way he did about growing up, never showed him the way home. Pan also is a true child in that, when someone doesn't do it his way, he becomes a bully and rather vicious. What happens to the rare Lost Boy whose experiences do make them grow up. Unfortunately, we find out in Never Never.
I feel like Shrum brought in elements of all our favourite Peter Pan stories and wove them all together to create the perfect story of the ultimate anti-hero. We got J.M Barrie's Peter and then the impishness and the likability of the pirates of Disney's cartoon movie. I believe that the emphasis on 'good and bad form' definitely came out of Steven Spielberg's Hook while the dark side to both Neverland and Peter Pan could be cast back to the Peter we knew from ABC's Once Upon A Time.
This is a magical book, telling the story of the Lost Boy (or Girl) inside all of us and that terrible desire to grow up but stay forever young at the same time.
One more word. Bangarang.
When James Hook was twelve years old, he really looked forward to becoming a student in Eton College and learning to be a man just as good as his father. That is, until, he meets a strange pixie-like boy in Kensington Gardens. Peter Pan manages to convince James Hook that perhaps growing-up isn't a good thing after all, and he allows Pan to take him to Neverland for a short holiday.
If you've ever wondered how a man like James Hook ended up on a magical island where children never grow up, this is a story for you. I really loved this take on the story. Presenting James Hook as a rather misunderstood hero is a rather genius idea, especially for anyone a fan of Once Upon A Time.
Never Never really brings into play all the wondrous ideas we all have of Peter Pan, the endless play, the cheeky smile, the amazing imagination. But, it also introduces some more sinister things as well. The manipulative nature of Pan - he tricked James Hook into flying to Neverland, and then, disgusted that James didn't think the same way he did about growing up, never showed him the way home. Pan also is a true child in that, when someone doesn't do it his way, he becomes a bully and rather vicious. What happens to the rare Lost Boy whose experiences do make them grow up. Unfortunately, we find out in Never Never.
I feel like Shrum brought in elements of all our favourite Peter Pan stories and wove them all together to create the perfect story of the ultimate anti-hero. We got J.M Barrie's Peter and then the impishness and the likability of the pirates of Disney's cartoon movie. I believe that the emphasis on 'good and bad form' definitely came out of Steven Spielberg's Hook while the dark side to both Neverland and Peter Pan could be cast back to the Peter we knew from ABC's Once Upon A Time.
This is a magical book, telling the story of the Lost Boy (or Girl) inside all of us and that terrible desire to grow up but stay forever young at the same time.
One more word. Bangarang.
I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.
When Amelia wakes up in a beautiful mansion with no memories, she has no idea about the secrets she is about to discover. Or the incredibly intense relationship she is about to embark on with the man that claims her as his own.
Anew is described as an erotic retelling of Sleeping Beauty however I would ping it as both a retelling of Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast. I did have a lot of problems with this book though.
There was definite insta-love between Ian and Amelia, and honestly there were times when the initial plot of Amelia's self-discovery and discovery of the world around her was lost in between the repetitions of 'mind-blowing' sex between herself and Ian. While fantastic and intense sex scenes can be really great to read most of the time, when they just repeat and
repeat, it gets boring and predictable.
Ian was very back and forth, as was Amelia. Neither of them could decide what to do, or how to feel and it was pretty much like a see-saw. As soon as one of them seemed to know what they wanted, the other had changed their mind.
This would have been a two-star book for me if it was just based on Ian and Amelia's relationship, however, I did enjoy the sub-plot of the type of New York Amelia found herself living in and the new system of living. It was slightly dystopian which made it very interesting. If I do read more books in this series, it will really only be out of curiosity for what happens in the society.
When Amelia wakes up in a beautiful mansion with no memories, she has no idea about the secrets she is about to discover. Or the incredibly intense relationship she is about to embark on with the man that claims her as his own.
Anew is described as an erotic retelling of Sleeping Beauty however I would ping it as both a retelling of Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast. I did have a lot of problems with this book though.
There was definite insta-love between Ian and Amelia, and honestly there were times when the initial plot of Amelia's self-discovery and discovery of the world around her was lost in between the repetitions of 'mind-blowing' sex between herself and Ian. While fantastic and intense sex scenes can be really great to read most of the time, when they just repeat and
repeat, it gets boring and predictable.
Ian was very back and forth, as was Amelia. Neither of them could decide what to do, or how to feel and it was pretty much like a see-saw. As soon as one of them seemed to know what they wanted, the other had changed their mind.
This would have been a two-star book for me if it was just based on Ian and Amelia's relationship, however, I did enjoy the sub-plot of the type of New York Amelia found herself living in and the new system of living. It was slightly dystopian which made it very interesting. If I do read more books in this series, it will really only be out of curiosity for what happens in the society.
I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.
Asa's father more or less runs the entire interplanetary system she lives on called Fane. With her oldest sister Wren in a coma after a revolt on one of their dying planets, Asa is left pretending to be her other sister Emmie in order to save Wren and marrying the son of one of the rulers of another system. Now Asa and her new husband Eagle must figure out a way to help save their planets while also getting to know each other. (There's a bit more to it than that but it just sounds complicated when I write it down - think a lot of planet/space family politics, paternity disputes, new love and all that jazz!)
I really enjoyed this one and absolutely flew through it. It took a while to get the interplanetary systems correct in my head but once I was used to all the tech and space speech, things began to make a lot more sense to me! I actually really fell in love with Asa and Eagle's blossoming relationship. Her reaction to his disability and disfigurement was actually really beautiful and I felt the feelings between them were so genuine and sincere. They just seemed to really get each other and I haven't read such a sweet relationship in a while and just need more, more, more of them!
Asa's decisions at the end were intriguing and I can't wait to see what she does next.
Asa's father more or less runs the entire interplanetary system she lives on called Fane. With her oldest sister Wren in a coma after a revolt on one of their dying planets, Asa is left pretending to be her other sister Emmie in order to save Wren and marrying the son of one of the rulers of another system. Now Asa and her new husband Eagle must figure out a way to help save their planets while also getting to know each other. (There's a bit more to it than that but it just sounds complicated when I write it down - think a lot of planet/space family politics, paternity disputes, new love and all that jazz!)
I really enjoyed this one and absolutely flew through it. It took a while to get the interplanetary systems correct in my head but once I was used to all the tech and space speech, things began to make a lot more sense to me! I actually really fell in love with Asa and Eagle's blossoming relationship. Her reaction to his disability and disfigurement was actually really beautiful and I felt the feelings between them were so genuine and sincere. They just seemed to really get each other and I haven't read such a sweet relationship in a while and just need more, more, more of them!
Asa's decisions at the end were intriguing and I can't wait to see what she does next.
I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.
I really enjoyed this book!
This is basically Every Day, just told through the eyes of Rhiannon. While Every Day was amazing and we got to see the world how A saw it, Another Day deals with living life stuck in the same place while the love of your life is god knows where. I found it so interesting to see A's life through Rhiannon and how she dealt with her emotions, and how she was able to A even when he was n the body of different people. Again, like Every Day, this book brought up some great thoughts and questions for about how people feel for others, sexually and emotionally. And how we can see and recognise each other's souls.
I also loved having an inside view into Rhiannon and Justin's relationship. Another Day gives a private peek into that, and we see both the good and the bad and can understand why Rhiannon stayed with Justin as long as she did and why she was so hesitant to break away from it.
I really loved the ending, and how we got a glimpse of Alexander as Alexander and his feelings towards Rhiannon. For me, I didn't quite get enough of that interaction but I'm just being greedy! Amazing book with beautiful, thought-provoking writing.
I really enjoyed this book!
This is basically Every Day, just told through the eyes of Rhiannon. While Every Day was amazing and we got to see the world how A saw it, Another Day deals with living life stuck in the same place while the love of your life is god knows where. I found it so interesting to see A's life through Rhiannon and how she dealt with her emotions, and how she was able to A even when he was n the body of different people. Again, like Every Day, this book brought up some great thoughts and questions for about how people feel for others, sexually and emotionally. And how we can see and recognise each other's souls.
I also loved having an inside view into Rhiannon and Justin's relationship. Another Day gives a private peek into that, and we see both the good and the bad and can understand why Rhiannon stayed with Justin as long as she did and why she was so hesitant to break away from it.
I really loved the ending, and how we got a glimpse of Alexander as Alexander and his feelings towards Rhiannon. For me, I didn't quite get enough of that interaction but I'm just being greedy! Amazing book with beautiful, thought-provoking writing.