Gideon the Ninth | Book Review

The Emperor needs necromancers.

The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead.

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It took me two months to read this book, but through no fault of its own. It just so happened I had just started Gideon the Ninth when exam season hit me. I read this in starts and stops, usually only reading a paragraph or a page a day, until I finished the last third in a few days after exams. It was not a good reading experience because of exams—I kept forgetting what had happened earlier in the chapter—but I had a lot of fun nonetheless.

This book is a wild ride. The writing is beautiful, but really dense and hard to read. It was thorny and hard to decipher, but still gorgeous. It did get easier as I continued the book, but I don’t know if I got used to it or if truly got easier.

The characters are magnificent, but there are over twenty and it was hard to keep track of them at first. I did learn them eventually, with much flipping to the guide at the beginning. The non-POV main characters are amazing (Harrow is my favorite) and the rest are mysterious and intriguing and unique. Despite having so many characters, they were all fleshed out and unique.

The plot meanders and we barely know anything about the world, which was frustrating, but you could tell that the reader only gets a taste of what’s really happening. We see only the surface of the plot for most of the book, but the pieces all move before coming together in a beautiful painting at the end. Similarly, the reader knows precious little about the world, but it is not underdeveloped; you can tell that there is so much she isn’t telling us. I want to know more about the other worlds and the history. I hope we get some answers in the next book.

The ending was perfect, devastating, and inevitable.

It was a really interesting choice to use Gideon as the main character (also the perfect choice). She’s not a key player in the plot, more of an observer. She doesn’t know what’s going on or anything about the world (which is why the plot meandered and the worldbuilding appears thin). It was breathtaking at the end when everything came together into a coherent plot and we saw the puzzle pieces of the book come together. But if it was a puzzle, we didn’t know we were even supposed to solve a puzzle when we started, so it was frustrating to read in the process, but beautiful when you finish.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Vengeful || A Book Review

Vengeful by V.E. Schwab || 5/5

Sydney once had Serena—beloved sister, betrayed enemy, powerful ally. But now she is alone, except for her thrice-dead dog, Dol, and then there’s Victor, who thinks Sydney doesn’t know about his most recent act of vengeance.

Victor himself is under the radar these days—being buried and re-animated can strike concern even if one has superhuman powers. But despite his own worries, his anger remains. And Eli Ever still has yet to pay for the evil he has done.

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• The writing style is lovely, as always.
• The characters are amazing. I love them so much, especially Victor, and I just want to lock them away in a safe house and keep anything bad from happening to them.
• But, I liked Vicious, the first book in the series, a tiny bit better.
• The events were difficult to keep track of chronologically. In Vicious, there were only two main time periods, so it was easy enough to keep everything straight. However, in Vengeful, there are so many different times and places and characters, so it was hard to piece together what was happening.
• I love the characters that were established in the first book, and I loved finding out what happened to them next. And I admired the new characters in this book, but I didn’t get quite as attached to them.
• I didn’t understand June’s motives toward Sydney, but June was a really mysterious character. We know almost nothing about her. Which is interesting and all, but it made me confused as to June’s purpose.
• After finishing the book, I still had questions. So hopefully there will be another book in the series.

Read 10-7-2018 to 10-12-2018

Vicious by V.E. Schwab || A Book Review

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab || A Book Review

Vicious || Book Review

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?

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Vicious by V.E. Schwab || 5/5

• It was a page-turner. I couldn’t stop reading, and my homework definitely suffered.
• It wasn’t in chronological order, but it wasn’t hard to keep track of what was going on.
• I fell in love with the characters.
  • It was interesting to read a story where everyone is morally gray. There’s no clear hero, and there’s no clear villain.
  • So who should you root for?
  • What if someone’s doing the right thing for the wrong reasons? Or the wrong thing for the right reasons?
  • I loved getting into the heads of the villains. And finding them relatable. Usually, you’re supposed to despise the villain. You’re supposed to gasp and go “How could they do something so atrocious?” But what if you know how and why? Do things change?
• The writing style is beautiful, the characters are believable.
• I was constantly asking questions and I was fully sucked into the world of Vicious.
• Overall, I HIGHLY recommend this book. Go read it. Right now. You’ll thank me later.

Read 9/23/2018 to 9/26/2018

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Read More: Review of This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

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Also, I think this song pairs nicely with Vicious.

Batman: Nightwalker || Book Review

Heyo, peoples of the universe!

How is your Monday? I don’t know how my Monday is going since it’s currently Sunday night and I’m not a psychic or anything. Although that would be very cool. Imagine knowing your test grade before you take the test so then you don’t freak out over it. Getting sidetracked here, but what superpower would you like? I always thought that I’d like invisibility or teleportation (because I hate traveling, but I like going places. But doesn’t everyone. Twelve-hour plane rides suck universally.)

So, I’ve just finished writing a twenty-one page, handwritten report for Chemistry. It was… not fun. More like a mad dash of insanity that murdered my fingers.

So. Getting to the point now.

But before we get to the point, what are you going to be for Halloween? It’s coming up and I have no idea. I was supposed to go shopping today, but because of said Chemistry report, I didn’t have time. But really, (and I don’t mean to be evil) what’s the point of dressing up when you wear a coat and nobody can see your costume anyway? But it seems like a betrayal to not wear a costume on Halloween.

Okay. Now. To the point.

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Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu || 3.5/5

Before he was Batman, he was Bruce Wayne. A reckless boy willing to break the rules for a girl who may be his worst enemy.

The Nightwalkers are terrorizing Gotham City, and Bruce Wayne is next on their list.

One by one, the city’s elites are being executed as their mansions’ security systems turn against them, trapping them like prey. Meanwhile, Bruce is turning eighteen and about to inherit his family’s fortune, not to mention the keys to Wayne Enterprises and all the tech gadgetry his heart could ever desire. But after a run-in with the police, he’s forced to do community service at Arkham Asylum, the infamous prison that holds the city’s most brutal criminals.

Madeleine Wallace is a brilliant killer . . . and Bruce’s only hope.

In Arkham, Bruce meets Madeleine, a brilliant girl with ties to the Nightwalkers. What is she hiding? And why will she speak only to Bruce? Madeleine is the mystery Bruce must unravel. But is he getting her to divulge her secrets, or is he feeding her the information she needs to bring Gotham City to its knees? Bruce will walk the dark line between trust and betrayal as the Nightwalkers circle closer. 

• So I have no comments on how the book is compared to existing Batman lore because I only know basic Batman. And much of that knowledge comes from the Lego Batman movie. Honestly, getting into superheroes seems likes a daunting task since there’s SO MUCH out there. So many movies and comics and superheroes.
• The whole premise is kind of ludicrous. Why would they give Bruce, an eighteen-year-old, community service at an asylum/prison? Especially when his crime was interfering with the police. The events that occurred seemed inevitable. I also can’t get over community service at an asylum/prison. Couldn’t he have picked up trash at the park or something?
• The main character is well-developed, but the minor ones could use some work. Madeline is intriguing, though.
• The writing is fine, though not remarkable.
• The pacing is somewhat slow, but there is good suspense and I was never bored.
• Overall, the book was entertaining, but not remarkable.

Read 8/23/2018 to 8/26/2018

Read More: Review of Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

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I’m so behind on book reviews! I’m reading much faster than I’m reviewing. So, in order to catch up, I’ve decided to not review every book that I read. Sometimes I just don’t have much to say. The books I’ve skipped are Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger (5/5) and When Did You See Her Last? by Lemony Snicket (4.5/5).

I’m also going to try to get in the habit of reviewing books as soon as I’ve finished. I suspect I will fail because time. But I will give a valiant effort.

Currently Reading: What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

This is my first ever signed copy of a book! It’s also so adorable. And addictive. I feel like my homework is going to suffer in the near future.

Fahrenheit 451 ||Book Review

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury || 2.5/5

Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden.

Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television ‘family’. But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people did not live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television.

When Mildred attempts suicide and Clarisse suddenly disappears, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known.

»»ℵ««

I have super mixed feelings about this book. For one, the message is lovely. But entertainment wise? I was not entertained.

• There is little-to-no character development. True, Mildred and the others are meant to be shallow characters, but what about people like Clarisse? She starts the avalanche of events, but she has very little page time. Even Montag is not quite fully developed.
• I love beautiful prose and metaphors. But at some point, you reach too much, and the prose just muddies the readability of the work. Fahrenheit 451 reached that point a long time ago.
• The pacing was off. The beginning and middle were quite slow and it seemed as though all the action was stuffed into the ending. I’d probably be happier without the action at the end. It didn’t fit the rest of the book.
• The plot didn’t make complete sense or fit together. Some parts jumped without fully filling in the gaps between.
• I really like the message. I bet most bookdragons would. It’s very applicable to life today. Like peeps. Get off your phones when your REAL LIFE FRIENDS ARE WITH YOU. Here’s a post I wrote about that a while ago about my frustrations with this. It isn’t even my friends. It’s just walking down the hallway and noticing other people doing it.

Read 7/28/2018 – 7/29/2018 and Reread 8/29/2018 – 9/3/2018

Currently Reading: Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman

It’s Raining Book Reviews!

I think I’m starting to get a hang of this book reviewing business! I still have to start reviewing books immediately after finishing them, though. Oops.

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A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab || 5/5

This is an amazing series! The world-building and plot are amazing, but I think that the most impressive part of this trilogy is the characters. They’re all so unique and flawed and they all have their own motivations. Schwab tackled multiple point-of-views really well and she was really good at creating suspense. I was terrified on behalf of the characters. This book definitely took a more tense turn and it wasn’t as carefree as the second book, A Gathering of Shadows. (But that wasn’t very carefree, to begin with.)

Plus pirates. There were pirates. I love pirates.

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The Rose Society by Marie Lu || 3/5

Most of this book was boring for me and I had trouble finishing it. The end was great, though. The minor characters weren’t developed and the romance was weird and unplausible. I think the book would’ve been better without it, but I guess you can’t have a YA book without romance, right? There was a love triangle, too. I don’t usually have anything against love triangles, but I wasn’t a fan of the romance at all. I thought it was strange for not one, but two peoples to fall in love with Adelina. Also, the characters’ decisions were occasionally random and illogical without reason (A reason could be that they were heartbroken by the fact that they were planning to propose to their longtime boyfriend, but the engagement ring that they spent months saving up for was swallowed by a rogue seagull. This heartbroken-ness can cause a person to make illogical decisions.)

My least favorite part of this book was the planning sessions. I thought the plans were weak and undetailed. They were mostly winging it. And yet, usually, nothing went wrong.

I loved Lu’s writing style, though, which was apparent in her other book, Warcross.

There are two things that will usually make me instantly love a book: Pirates and anti-heroes. This book had anti-heroes, but I still didn’t like it.

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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee || 5/5

This book was great! I can’t believe I haven’t read it before now. My favorite part of this book was the various characters. They were all lovely, especially Atticus. The writing was beautiful and there were many amazing quotes.

I’m not planning to read Go Set A Watchmen, though. I don’t want my precious Scout to grow up.

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They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera || 5/5

This book takes place in a world that’s mostly like our own, but with one difference: Death-Cast will call you at (about) midnight the day you die.

So first, I want to talk about the idea of being alerted the day you’re going to die (if someone is going to die that day, they’re called a “Decker”). I feel like this is a paradox, sort of like time travel.

So, assume that you are an avid mountain climber and you are supposed to die on June 4 because your harness snaps and you fall down the cliff-side to your doom.

But at 12:05 a.m. on June 4, Death-Cast calls you and tells you that you’re going to die, so you decide not to go mountain-climbing because tumbling down a cliff seems like a painful and unappealing way to die. Instead, you decide to not leave your bed and just drink peppermint tea all day. Super safe.

You don’t die.

And because you didn’t die, Death-Cast didn’t call you that morning.

And because Death-Cast didn’t call you on June 4, you didn’t die on June 4.

You went mountain climbing and your harness didn’t break and you had a grand ole time.

Therefore, is everybody’s life extended just by the existence of Death-Cast?

Or would you have died on June 4 anyway by some other method? For example, by drowning in your peppermint tea?

Okay, let’s get to the review now.

I love the message of this book, which is to take risks and live life to the fullest because you never know how much time you have left.

My favorite part of this book was the characters. I loved Mateo and Rufus. The title (They Both Die at the End) is a huge spoiler and since I knew that they were going to die, I tried not to get attached. I failed.

The writing was amazing and there were a lot of quotable parts. (I thought it was weird that teenagers were coming up with these beautiful and poetic quotes about life and death, though. But I guess they’re dying. They have a reason to be profound.)

Silvera was great at writing suspenseful parts and light-hearted parts and I was smiling through a lot of the book, even though I knew what was coming (intense sadnesses). The characters were just so lovable. Silvera did well with multiple point-of-views, as well. I always knew which chapters were Mateo’s and which were Rufus’s based on what they said and how they said it.

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Crooked Kingdom || 13/5

This one was a reread, but I don’t think I’ve reviewed it before. THIS IS MY FAVORITE BOOK. THE CHARACTERS! THE CHARACTERS ARE AMAZING! I love how much they grow throughout the course of the series.

Also, I love them.

They’re amazing

SQUEEEEEEEEE.

Sorry, I’m being incoherent.

Read it.

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Currently Reading

I just finished Crooked Kingdom, and I’m not entirely sure what to read next (nothing seems as good afterward), so I’m trying out different books on my TBR to see what I’m in the mood for, so I’m at the very beginning of both Seraphina and Ready Player One.

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TBR

1. This Mortal Coil
2. The Midnight Star
3. Red Queen
4. The Unwanteds Quests: Dragon Bones

Miniature Book Reviews!

I’ve read a couple amazing books this time around. Some of them will be new favorites. But it seems like I’ve also been DNFing (DNF=did not finish) books left and right. I always feel a bit bad when I DNF a book because I’ll never know if it got better later on. It could’ve been a new favorite of mine. (Most likely not, but still.) But after reading the entirety of Matched and The Isle of the Lost (my two least favorite books) based on this notion, I’ve been better about DNFing a book when I know it won’t work.

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Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda || 5/5

The writing style was a bit choppy, but that was a character trait of Simon (as mentioned in the book). Other than that, this book was perfect. I absolutely LOVED the characters, especially Simon. I do wish the minor characters could be developed more, but again it was a character trait of Simon’s to mostly focus on himself.

The author was amazing at creating dramatic moments. This book is beautiful. Everyone, go read it right now.

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Let the Sky Fall || DNF

I picked this book up because the author, Shannon Messenger, wrote Keeper of the Lost Cities, one of my all-time favorite series. So I was expecting a lot from this one, but it didn’t really fit my tastes. First, it was a love story. Blech. I read about a third of this book.

The characters were incredibly annoying. The plot was pretty good, though. Vane was just plain irritating and Audra was overly aggressive and serious. I can just feel her glaring at everyone.

The romance was super weird. Vane and Audra both despise each other’s personalities, but are physically attracted to each other. Which is gross. It’s like, “I hate everything meaningful about you, but I’m gonna try and kiss you anyway because you’re randomly beautiful.” (It should be noted that I didn’t read the entire book and these are just my observations about the book so far.)

What I liked about the romance in Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda was that Simon and Blue fall in love with each other’s personalities without knowing what the other person looks like. Vane and Audra are in the complete opposite situation.

I might try this book again because Shannon Messenger. Have any of you read this book? Was it good?

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Pathfinder || DNF

This one just didn’t work.

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A List of Cages || 5/5

This book has all the feels! It messes with your emotions, peeps.

The major characters were amazing and I loved them, but the minor characters could definitely use some development. They all blended into one another. Adam has so many friends. They multiply like rabbits and the mash together like a paintball game. I could not tell which was which. Their blandness was an issue when a particular friend among the millions was referred to.

Sometimes (especially at one particular point), the characters made some illogical choices, which was somewhat annoying.

I think people who like John Green would like this book. Speaking of which. In John Green books (specifically Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns) and A List of Cages, the main characters are high school seniors and the way they refer to freshmen freaks me out. 1) Will I be like that when I’m a senior? 2) Do all old people think like that? 3) There must be something wrong with these people.

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Currently Reading

This book is so good! This series has somehow managed to get even better.

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TBR

1. They Both Die at The End
2. Seraphina
3. The Rose Society
4. Crooked Kingdom