Sayonara, Blogger!

I am leaving Blogger for good. No more posts here ever. You can follow my reviews and other random things at my Wordpress blog:

YA on my Mind | Random thoughts of a YA-0bsessed violinist

which you can follow via Bloglovin' or Feedly.

Besides this, I am also on Tumblr, Twitter and DeviantArt. 

Thoughts on Defiance

Not for me, that's for sure. Just watched half the pilot and nothing really made me say - let's see where this goes. So, I guess this show will not be on my watch list.

Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Laini Taylor does it again. Days of Blood and Starlight was beautiful. The characters, the relationships, how the characters react - it's all so real. You can almost imagine yourself in that world. I also love how the perspectives keep changing so we know what's on another character's mind. Simply superb book. A must-read for all fantasy fans.

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Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If I had to describe this book in two words, they would be 'rich' and 'vivid'. Daughter of Smoke and Bone is literally alive with the lush settings and characters. There are two distinct races - the Seraphim and the Chimaera, the 'angels' and 'demons'. We have Karou, a seemingly ordinary 17 year old girl, who run errands for Brimstone. She is an artist and that was the first thing that made me like her. Extremely badass, she is not your typical innocent YA heroine. Then we have Brimstone, the apparent magus of the chimaera. Throughout the book, he appears gruff and strict but towards the end you realize he is loving and compassionate. There's also Akiva, tortured by his past and hungry for vengeance. The dynamic between Akiva and Madrigal was slow to develop but it was so beautiful.

This book was so beautiful to read that I now feel like hearing it one again in an audio book version. I never read as audio books, mostly because I like to actually 'read' it. But this is one book I think will be enchanting to re-read on audio.

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Towering by Alex Flinn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I like reading fairytale re-tellings. It's very interesting to find out how an author can take a new spin on an old tale, how some ideas can allude to the legends. In Towering, Rachel is the main protagonist (Rapunzel) while Wyatt is the prince who (is supposed to) saves her. Of course, it doesn't work out that way and this tale is happening in the present times.

The book began well - new guy, mysterious town, hearing voices, creepy old lady. By the half of the book, I was falling in love with the story. It had merit, but in the second half things started to go downhill. The romance between Wyatt and Rachel was rushed. I agree, they were destined for each other but really? (view spoiler)[How can Rachel kiss a guy she just met? That is considering she never even met a guy until him! (hide spoiler)]

The suspense in the story was good though. It's not clear who is really who in the start. Is Mrs. Greenwood as creepy as the kids say? Is Zach some sort of evil mythical being? (view spoiler)[ Never saw that coming - him doing it all for the greater good. By the way, he technically sort of date-raped the girl so I am not a fan of him (hide spoiler)]

Over all, it's a good re-telling if you love the genre. Otherwise, it would be quite a mediocre read.

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The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Blood of Eden series by Julie Kagawa is a visual journey. Kagawa has a flair for constructing a scene so well, you can just imagine yourself there. Even more, none of that is inessential. I see many authors get lost in the details of the surroundings, but Kagawa? Hats off to you. She manages to keep the story going while providing us a rich feel of the place. The world-building is flawless and the characters are not one-dimensional. Take for example, Jackal. In the last book, Immortal Rules, we see him as a ruthless king of the raiders. Here, we get to see a whole another side of him. He is still the raider king but the banter between him and Allison? It was a joy to read. Overall, this book deserves each and every star.

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The Elite by Kiera Cass
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

I really wanted to give this a 4, but the main characters just plain annoyed me in the book. America is being all - who to choose, Aspen or Maxon? Aspen is being stringed along and so are the other Selection girls. Maxon feels it okay to make out with girls who he doesn't like Celeste? (gasp!) And both are hiding their insecurities from each other. I think I only liked the final chapter fully. Oh, and the King, what to say about him? He is such a d-bag!
And will someone tell us what is going on with the rebels? From two books it's all surprise attacks by the Northern and Southern rebels. There is only outlawing and dropping of caste as response by the Crown.

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