Saturday 28 May 2016

That Boy by Jillian Dodd

That Boy by Jillian Dodd
Published: Jillian Dodd Inc., January 13th, 2014
Pages: 303
Source: e-book, purchased
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: 2/5

How I Felt: The end of this book is what got it a second star. About 90% of this had me rolling my eyes and trying not to scream. I picked this book up because I wanted a cute, quick romance that I could read trying to come off a fantasy kick. Nope. I didn't get that at all. All I got was frustration.

First I want to talk about the narration. Jayden was incredibly immature. This book starts off when she's a young child. It's the story of her growing up with her neighbours and friends Danny and Philip. I thought she would mature as the story went on and she got older but no. It was the same narration when she was a child and when she was 21. I couldn't stand the immaturity. Her decision making was awful, and I was repeatedly screaming at the book trying to knock some sense into her. Also, her narration bothered the heck out of me. I'm not sure if it's the writing or just Jayden herself. I don't know if it was supposed to be part of her character but it was too much for me. She would think about something and then go off on a rant in her head. It got so annoying. She literally talked about the history of beanpoles for a few pages and provided a legitimate definition.  Quotes from a dictionary. I can't.

More on the writing, I also didn't like how J.J. would address the reader. She would say things along the lines of "You probably already guessed that." Personally, I hate this in books. I don't want the character to address me because when I read it's a chance for me to escape my world and become the character. It just seems a little unnatural to me when it's less of a stream of consciousness and more like a voice-over in a movie.

One of the biggest things that annoyed me in this book was the constant use of the phrase "That boy." Yes, I understand that is the title of the book but I don't think it needs to be used every time J.J. describes someone of the male species. Again, cue the eye roll.

Also, since this book follows Jayden as she grows up we often skip and gloss over years at a time. I really didn't like how this worked out because it usually just had J.J. recapping the last few months or years very quickly and brushing everything off. I didn't really like that because it stopped the flow of the story and really slowed down the plot. It made things choppy and the author often had to backtrack anyway to catch the reader up on all the time that passed. I don't think the time lapse was executed as well as it should have been.

The part with Danny, Philip and Jayden's parents in the hot tub. Gross. Ew. Stop.

I thought that Jayden's flirtatious personality she developed as she grew up felt forced. I mean when she was younger she was completely oblivious to everything and then the book fast-forwards a few years and she's a master of all the arts. Ok. It annoyed me that she took everything too far and just went "who cares" and made Phillip clean up her mess. It felt like her character was forced to become 'cool' so she was placed in situations that felt unnatural to me. I understand she was growing and changing but it didn't feel consistent. If that makes sense.

Now, what did I like? To be honest, sadly, not much. Phillip is what really made this book for me. I loved how he was always there for J.J. no matter what they were going through. Fighting or not e always went out of his way to make sure she was okay. I was almost ready to slap her for what she did at the end.


Sadly, a lot of this review is full of negative things. But I really couldn't find too much to say I liked about it and that pains me. I was so looking forward to enjoying this book and gobbling it up.

Overall, I didn't really enjoy this book. A lot of reviews I've seen though have been positive so if this is something that sounds like you might like give it a shot. I personally don't recommend it.


 
Thanks for reading!
~Birdie

*Info on book taken from Goodreads.com*
*Image taken from Google.ca 

Saturday 7 May 2016

April Bookish Wrap-up!

Welcome to another wrap up! I'm really excited to be doing these posts now because I find it so fun to just look back on the month and see all the bookish things that happened! Also, this year is flying by so fast! It's already May so that means exams are coming up soon and I am not looking forward to that at all. Anyways, here we go!

Favourite New Releases: There weren't too many books that came out last month that I was interested, but my TBR pile is still continuously growing...

  1. The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead. When this book was first announced I was so excited because it sounded so cool to me but now that it's out I've heard a lot of negative reviews and I'm worried. But I still really want to pick it up and give it a shot! (Also, this cover is gorgeous!)
  2. The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi. I've heard nothing but amazing things about this book and I can't wait to get my hands on it!
  3. Dreamology by Lucy Keating. This book came out of nowhere and kind of surprised me. I hadn't heard too much about it but I saw a YouTube video about it and I was immediately hooked. (I almost bought it last month but I already bought too many other books)
  4. Lady Renegades by Rachel Hawkins. This is the third book in the Rebel Belle series and I can't wait to see what happens. I loved the first book but the second one disappointed me a little so I'm excited to see what's in store for this one!
Favourite Blog Posts from Other Bloggers:
Sadly, I haven't had a lot of free time in April because I had so much going on with school but in May I hope to explore the bookish interwebs a bit more!

My Blog Post: Also because of my busyness in April, the only post I uploaded was my March bookish wrap-up. I rock.

My March Bookish Wrap-up

Book Haul: As many book lovers know, when you don't have a lot of time to read books, you tend to buy more to make up for it because that makes so much sense. I know I have a problem and I accept it. Oh, and it's official: I've run out of space on my shelves and I've resorted to stacking book up in piles on my desk.

Ice Kissed by Amanda Hocking. This is the second book in the Kanin Chronicles series and I'm really liking it so far!

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro. As soon as I read the synopsis for this book I had to get my hands on it. It's about the descendants of Holmes and Watson and I cry this is so amazing I can't wait to read it.

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson. Everyone always talks about how amazing Sanderson is so I thought I'd give him a shot with this book because it was on sale. Gotta get those deals.

On the Fence by Kasie West. Kasie West is the queen of quick, fun, cute contemporary romances. I could read these books till the day I die. All the excitement for this.

What I Read: So I read 5 books this month, and one of them was for school. I'm pretty happy with that considering how much I had going on. I hope maybe I can read a little bit more this month to catch up with my reading goal.

Switched by Amanda Hocking. 3/5. After Queen of Shadows, I was left in a weird state so I didn't know what to read. I picked this up on a whim and I really enjoyed it. It was so easy to fly through and I love Hocking's writing. Definitely recommend if you feel a slump coming on.

Torn by Amanda Hocking. 3/5. I started marathoning this series because I became addicted and I didn't really feel in the mood for someone else. At this point in the series, Finn was kind of like Chaol to me and I wanted to punch him in the face. But it was a good sequel.

Ascend by Amanda Hocking. 4/5. Definitely my favourite book in the series. I loved how everything wrapped up and it did bring a few tears to my eyes! Loki is precious.

Frostfire by Amanda Hocking. 4/5. (As you can tell I binge read a lot of Amanda Hocking last month.) I really liked this book, especially because there were so many cameos from the Trylle series! But I also really like Bryn and her character. I can't wait to see where the story goes!

Lord of the Flies by William Hocking. 2.5/5. I had to read this for school and I wasn't too impressed. While it was a good and important overall story, the writing just didn't work for me. I found it to be very inconsistent with the pacing and it was so descriptive it just wasn't keeping my attention.

I don't really have any new authors to talk about again because I literally only read two. I have a problem and I need to branch out more.

Favourite Book Fanart:

I just had to pick this book because the Selection series comes to an end this month with the Crown and I can't handle all the emotions right now!

Thanks for reading!
~Birdie

*Images taken from Google.ca*

Wednesday 4 May 2016

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard
Published: HarperTeen, February 9th, 2016
Pages: 444
Source: Hardcover, purchased
Genre: Fantasy/Dystopian
Rating: 4/5

How I Felt: This book is a roller-coaster, to say the least. My thoughts are a little scrambled after reading this so I'll try to be coherent.

I definitely liked this book better than Red Queen, I thought it was a strong sequel. But I still had my issues with it.

I still don't like the writing too much, although I did feel it improved in this installment. I find so many repetitive phrases that just get on my nerves every so often.

I liked the addition of the new characters in this, and I loved all the action sequences. I felt like they were well written and I could picture them all clearly. I also loved how we got to travel around a lot in this book, it was so interesting to get a better look at Norta.

I also really liked getting to learn more about the people like Mare. It was so cool to see how diverse they all were and how much they could whip the Silvers into shape if they got together.

*sing-songs* I have a feeling there is something going on with Farley and I can't wait for the third book to see if it's true. *laughs maniacally*

I didn't really like Mare too much in this book. I felt like she was acting very vain and self absorbed most of the time thinking that this rebellion is all about her when so many other lives are at stake. So I appreciated it when Cameron was introduced and gave her a few reality checks. I understand it was to add to her character development and help her grow as a person, but she got a little annoying after saying the same thing for the whole book.

(*The next paragraph contains mild spoilers*)
Jon. I'm not going to say too much about him but at first he reminded me of the guy from Men in Black who could see the future and that made me laugh hysterically for a few minutes when I made that connection. Sadly I don't remember his name but in short he gives me life. Until the end of this book when I want to slap him silly.
(*Spoilers over.*)

I had a feeling it was going to end that way. I see it in practically every sequel in YA. I won't say what it is because I don't want to spoil anyone but ohmigosh -__-

Now I must mention this because it's something I am completely confused and undecided about and it freaks me out in a good way. There is so much allusion to romance in this book but it feels like every path and every guy leads to a dead end. I don't know who to trust, I don't know who I like or want to protect more. It's delightfully infuriating.

I really hope Mare fixes things with her family and Kilorn. I don't really know what to expect in the third book though, to be honest. I appreciate that going into the next book, I have no clue what to expect. With this one, it was like being thrown into a completely different world.

I will be continuing on with the series because I must say I'm intrigued. Even though tropes are layed on thick I still really enjoyed this one.

Cal and Kilorn must be protected at all costs.


Thanks for reading!
~Birdie

*Info on book taken from Goodreads.com*
*Image taken from Google.ca 

Sunday 1 May 2016

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

Since this is the fourth book in the series I want to put it out there that this review is filled with spoilers for the series. Beware, you have been warned.

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
Published: Bloomsbury USA Children's, September 1st, 2015
Pages: 648
Source: Hardcover, purchased
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5/5

How I Felt: Can I just start this off by saying how much I loved Lysandra in this? I hated her in the Assassin's Blade and now I want to be her best friend.

Dorian, precious cinnamon roll!!



Sarah J. Maas is a literal queen and deserves all the awards ever for making me feel all the feels and for breaking my heart into a million little pieces and then gluing a quarter of them back together.

So in case you couldn't tell, I really really loved this book. I thought it was a great continuation of the series and I loved where it picked up. I feel like it did the characters a lot of justice and was great at showcasing their stellar development. For instance, in the beginning of this book I wanted to knock the living daylights out of Chaol he was so annoying. But by the end he had me in tears and I just wanted to protect him and cry for the rest of my life. Also, Dorian is my precious cinnamon roll and must be protected at all costs. Aedion gives me life. And Lysandra is a beautiful human being who deserves all the good things.

What I love about Sarah's writing is the witty banter that happens between all the characters. I can't help but burst out laughing like a psycho whenever reading one of those scenes and it's what I love about all her books.

Aelin is such an amazing character, in my opinion. I love how much growth and change she goes through in this book. Frankly, I love how much change everyone goes through in this book. Too many emotions!

So I think I should put it out there that I'm hardcore team Rowan so I loved this book very very much. I thought I loved Rowan in HoF but I fell in love with him in this book and in my opinion I think he and Aelin are perfect and amazing together.

I very much enjoyed getting to see many new characters in this book, like Evangeline, Elide and Nesryn. Granted, at the beginning of the book I also wanted to punch Nesryn but by the end I would've done anything to protect her.

I enjoyed getting to see from Manon's P.O.V. more so in this book than HoF just because of how much was going on in Morath with her in this book. I also enjoyed getting to see her mindset change and see her slowly develop a conscience. I loved the Manon/Aelin seen! I was rooting for both of them very loudly whilst reading alone in my room (to the dismay of my family).

I did find some parts of this book to be slow and hard to get through, but for the most part I really did enjoy it.

I loved all the action/fighting/battle scenes we got in this book and I'm so pumped for all the ones to come in future books!

Also, I hate Arobynn Hamel with a burning, fiery passion. And Clarisse too.

I really liked the scene where Aelin disguised herself with the dancers. I loved getting to see her with her old teacher and their exchange.

Okay, we need to discuss the Wrydkey and Valg developments in this book. SO many things happened in both departments it was hard to keep up but I enjoyed learning it all just the same.

Overall, I really loved this book. I am such a fan of this series it isn't even funny. I can't wait for the fifth book to come out! I need to know what happens to all my precious children! I will probably pass out when I get it in my hands. I can't wait to know more about everything, this book has so many layers it never ceases to amaze me.

Thanks for reading!
~Birdie

*Info on book taken from Goodreads.com*
*Images takes from Google.ca 

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