I did not enjoy this book. In fact, I'm not sure how anyone could given the subject matter, but it's probably one of my favorites of the year. Little I did not enjoy this book. In fact, I'm not sure how anyone could given the subject matter, but it's probably one of my favorites of the year. Little Peach is raw and unflinching story of how one girl finds herself knee deep in the world of child prostitution. The subject matter is a heavy one, and Kern does not hold back the reality of Michelle's, AKA "Little Peach," world.ÌýLittle Peach is aÌý200 page powerful story that with knee your feels right where it counts, make you curl into a ball and cry.
Michelle grows up in a troubled home with her grandfather, her primary caregiver and protector. However, when he passes away, she loses all of that and is forced to find her own way. So she decides to go to New York in the hopes that she'll be able to stay with a friend. When she arrives, her plan falls through and she realizes just how dire her situation is, and is picked up by a seemingly charming and helpful boy named Devon. Desperate,Ìývulnerable with nowhere else to turn, Michelle accepts his help and is swept into a world of drug addiction and prostitution.
Devon, her "daddy," establishes himself as a new provider and protector of Michelle and the other two girls who reside with him: Baby and Kat. WithÌýpromises ofÌýlove and a new family, Michelle accepts her lot in life and becomes "Little Peach," believing this is the best that's out there for her. When your mother is a drug addict who chooses her slimy boyfriend over you, there aren't many options. Still, there are times when she regrets her new life, especially when she sees the mistreatment of the other girls and the horrors of her "family." Then there are times when she fleetingly finds peace and happiness: When she, Baby and Kat are "off duty" and enjoying a fun day. You can tell she longs for a normal life, one any girl should have, but the realities of her life continue to creep back night after night in the form of getting highÌýand hotel rooms. It's a sharp contrast as she battles to hold ontoÌýher childhood during the day, while slipping on her adult personality every night along withÌýthe dresses Devon makes her wear.
Michelle's voice is strong, broken and raw all at once as her narration flips between the story of how she became Devon's Little Peach and chapters told fromÌýa hospital bed, wanting to reach out to the social worker assigned to her case. The former displays a voice of innocence lost as Michelle tells of her time not only with Devon, but also with her grandfather. While the latter feels sharper and harder, more distant and tougher thanks to many of the horrible things she's encountered. It made me want to hug her and take all her pain away. Kern captures all of Michelle's longing, desperation, hopelessness and sadness perfectly. She creates a voice that can't be ignored or forgotten, one that begs us to for helpÌýand demands our attention, leaving the reader horrified, fascinated and disgusted all at once.
The worst part of Little Peach is that everything thing in the book is real. There are no happy endings, no easy answers or closures. This is real life. And that's a hard pill to swallow to think that this is happening right now, even as you read this review. This book left me an angry, weeping mess and I know it won't ever leave me.
Recommended for fans of Ellen Hopkins and Christa Desir’s and Bleed Like Me.
**If you are interested in learning more about human trafficking and what you can do,ÌýÌýis a great place to start.
Interested in more about Little Peach? to learn how she did research for her novel and enter to win a finished copy!
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... Love isn't a choice. You fall for the person, not their chromosomes.
I love walking away from a book learning so much more about people
... Love isn't a choice. You fall for the person, not their chromosomes.
I love walking away from a book learning so much more about people and the world around me. It allows me to peep into the others' lives and backgrounds, understand their struggles and fears. I'm very appreciative of authors who set out to bring awareness to topics such as this one: intersex. I've learned a great deal from Kristen's story and I'm left encouraged by the strength she showed. The biggest con for me was the writing style. At times it just felt too simple for my tastes, but that's my quirk, not None of the Above's.
I'd recommend picking this one up, if for nothing other than broadening your understanding of intersex persons and challenging/exploring any pre-existing thoughts of what it truly means to be a woman.
More thoughts to come soon.
ARC was provided by the publisher for an honest review. ...more
I loved this one. An unreliable main character that is both firece and strong in every way. Definitely make sure this one is on your list! Review to cI loved this one. An unreliable main character that is both firece and strong in every way. Definitely make sure this one is on your list! Review to come!...more
Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of this book for free from The Book Smugglers, the publishing duo behind this title.
I don’t usually do short stories anDisclaimer: I was sent a copy of this book for free from The Book Smugglers, the publishing duo behind this title.
I don’t usually do short stories and I’ve frequently find myself saying that every time I read a short story I actually like. But it’s true, I don’t. In this case, Huang’s story immediately hooked me and by the time it was over, I was wishing for more. The pacing was perfect for its length and never felt rushed like some novellas may feel. What I really loved was reading a story that featured diverse characters that felt natural to the setting and plot. I’ll probably be interested in checking out the author’s other work in the future....more
I went into this book like a person between jobs, bored of their last venture and not yet ready to dive into anything too serious. I knew exactly whatI went into this book like a person between jobs, bored of their last venture and not yet ready to dive into anything too serious. I knew exactly what I was getting myself into and my expectations were appropriatelyÌýset for mindless entertainment. I know this may seem like a strange thing for some people and I'm sure many would wonder why I decided to read a book I was sure to dislike. The simple explanation would lie somewhere between "Because I felt like it" and "Because I paid for it." But for those of you who aren't as easily pacified, I'll say this: Reading books like thisÌýis like inviting your friends over for a night of popcorn, ice cream and really, really terrible horror movies. It takes itself so seriously, that you can't take it seriously. And instead of scaring you, the intentional outcome, it has the reverse effect, providing you and your friends endless fodder for punch lines to new jokes and puns equally as terrible as its source material.
But the moral question, of course, must be considered. Is this fair to the author? And to that I would have to reply in the affirmative and point such cynics in the direction of my Amazon receipt. A Shade of Vampire isn't a book that I would recommend or even one that I could see myself coming back to. It's served it's purpose of beingÌýdifferent enough from what I usually read, breaking up the monotony. It entertained me and now I shall entertain you. (Also, spoiler alert.)
Here we go.
Twilight.
There. I've already shot, mangled and killed the Fat Elephant in the room right out the gate. I'm not pulling the "T" card strictly because this book is about vampires and forbidden love. Plenty of other Paranormal Romance books have those qualities and still maintain their independence from the pop culture phenomenon. I bring it up because it's inevitable and follows similar book canon. As such, I created a Choose Your Own Adventure based on A Shade of Vampire.
Choose Your Own Adventure: A Shade of Vampire
1. You're walking through the park alone, feeling down and under appreciated by family and friends. A handsome stranger comes out of nowhere. He's creepy, invades your space and asks you name. You:
A. Tell him your name and force yourself not to run away because you'll show your friends and family! So what if he turns out to be some psycho serial killer. You're 16 and invincible and living on the wild side for once. WHOO-HOOO! YEAH BABY! Ìý(Proceed to #2)
B. Run, because he could be some psycho serial killer. (Proceed to #6)
Ìý
2. Okay, so that was totally not smart and now you're tied up to a post in a basement. Turns out they want to pamper, primp and prime you for this important Vampire Prince. You vow to be smart from now on about your decisions. You are brought before the Prince along with several other girls, made up for the sole purpose of sexual objectification. You're scared and nervous, so you hold one of the other girl's hands. The Prince notices this gesture and singles you out! Oh noz! He slams you against the wall hard, ready to suck you dry. You:
A. Tell yourself you are not the victim here, despite clearly being in a victim-like situation. It's something your Yoda, best friend used to always tell you. So naturally you tell the Prince, who just can't seem to control his thirst even though he really, really wants to, that he is also not a victim. ÌýYou do all this with a clear head even though Vampire Fangs are breaths away from your throat. Also, you are a Mary Sue. (Proceed to #3)
B. Think about the great life you had and go down fighting like the lion you are. You die. GAME OVER.
Ìý
3. Whew! Somehow that worked! Who knew your Yoda best friend's advice could come in handy against a Vampire Prince with a tortured past?! As a result, the Prince has taking a liking to you and gives you the plush room right next to his in his pimped out tree house (because where else would a vampire sleep? A coffin? Yeah, right). In fact, he's drawn to you and you to him. But you have to get home, so when the Prince thinks you're sleeping, you:
A. Miraculously find a hoodie and pair of shorts in your closet that's conveniently filled with cocktail dresses, find a way down the treehouse, and make a run for it... all on the same page! Who needs details? You have no idea where you're going, but you'll find a way. You're the heroine after all! (Proceed to #4)
B. Buy out the opportune time. You get to know the Prince and find out as much as you can about the secluded town to help plot your escape. All things come to those who are smart. (Proceed to #6)
Ìý
4. This was a bad idea. You didn't realize this was an island with no way of escape! WAAAA WAAA! They even have a fence as tall as the wall of China! UGH. Damn Vamps! If only you had attempted to learn more about this place, maybe you could have anticipated this and prepared better. Alas, you are a dunderhead. Oh, no! Here come two guards. You:
A. Think about name-dropping your powerful master's name in the hopes that it'll put fear into their hearts, but you allow yourself to be interrupted because something has to encourage this ridiculous plot along. This is it. Your death is coming. (Proceed to #5)
B. Run. You Die. GAME OVER, silly girl.
Ìý
5. One of the guards has his fangs in your neck. Just as you are mentally saying goodbye to your life, the Vampire Prince comes out of nowhere and rips you away from the attackers. Then some serious Indiana Jones type shit happens.
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You're scared, hurt and mentally cursing yourself for yet another terrible decision. Vampire Prince makes you drink his blood to heal yourself and takes you back to your fancy prison. He tells you never to run away again and that you are his. You:
Fall in love because he seems like a nice guy underneath it all. GAME OVER.
The basic plot for A Shade of Vampire is Sofia coming to accept Derek and help heal him. I'm generally not a fan of those type of books because it creates an imbalance in the relationship and breeds co-dependence. The next thing you know the characters are proclaiming their undying love and saying things like they'll never love another or how they can't be without that person. Of course, you also have the fact that Derek wants to EAT Sofia. And somehow after 400 years of not drinking blood, he's able to resist Sofia because she's different.
No other woman -- and believe me when I say that I've been with many -- had the same effect that Sofia Claremont has on me. [...] She'd only recently entered my life, yet it felt like I'd known her for ages.
OH REALLY?
I've already stopped even thinking about a life that doesn't have Derek Novak in it.
Whether I liked it or not, home had become wherever Derek Novak was.
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What made me angry was the not so subtle sexism and slut shaming that went on. Sofia is a member of Prince Derek's harem and other Vamps in the town assume she's sleeping with him, because HAREM, and all that. Sofia is oblivious to this until a member of the Prince's guard says she's doing a good job of pleasing him. And she replies:
"That's not... I would never!" I spluttered. Here I was, a virgin, being rumored to have given the newly awakened prince a pleasurable night in bed. He frowned, an amused glint in the corners of his eyes. "You mean you didn't..." My eyes widened. "No! I'm not that kind of girl..."
Then we have Derek's brother, Lucas, who wants nothing more than to rape and kill Sofia. Every time he showed up in a scene he made these intentions clear. Because it's not enough that he wanted to drink her blood and kill her, he has to want to rape her too.
The lust was unmistakable. He was practically undressing her with those eyes and I could tell that Sofia felt it based on how she sat there tense and unmoving.
I was aware of it all, and yet, I wasn't. It was almost like everything was happening to another person, and yet it was me.
WUT.ÌýLet me help you: "It was surreal."
The characters could have also used some development besides the usual descriptions. Sofia is a girl who can do no wrong, a pure virgin, The One to Change Derek, selfless, not used to attention, etc. The only unique thing about her is her Low Latent Inhibition disorder, which basically amounts to nothing more than a really good memory. I kept wondering if it would somehow relate to the plot or have some other use, but it's kinda like Nora's iron pills from Hush, Hush. They serve no other purpose than being present.
(OH. And there just happens to be a witch on the vampire island who also was a psychologist and able to diagnose this disorder. I swear this book was written with an Easy Button.)
The underlying plot with the war between the other covens and Vampire Hunters would have been more interesting if it had more page time instead of just being casually mentioned once or twice. This is certainly not the worst book I've ever read, but I can't really recommend it to anyone either unless you're bored or a huge Twilight/Hush, Hush fan. And even then, this book may be too ridiculous to be true....more
It's like an X-Men dystopia stuck in a high fantasy world on crack.
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Look, guys, don't worry about the love tYAAAAAASSSS VICTORIA YAAAAAASSSSSS.
It's like an X-Men dystopia stuck in a high fantasy world on crack.
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Look, guys, don't worry about the love triangle. Actually, calling it a love triangle is very spoilerish and I wish I could further calm your feels, but alas, you must read it for yourself.
Immensely loved this with very minor reservations and I can't wait for book 2! Full review to come! ...more
I came really close to DNFing this book at 96% on principle alone because I was fed one thing in the beginning of the novel, only to be force fed someI came really close to DNFing this book at 96% on principle alone because I was fed one thing in the beginning of the novel, only to be force fed something entirely different by the end. My Heart and Other Black Holes had so much potential--a lot of novel accurately described what it feels like to be depressed. So I was expecting a novel about discovering yourself, overcoming depression and finding something to live for. I was excited for it because it's a topic that needs more awareness and understanding. And for about 60% of the book, I got just that, but somewhere along the way, My Heart and Other Black Holes got ridiculously lost and confused. What happened?
Be warned: Unhidden spoilers and very personal feelings ahead.
Aysel is battling depression in the aftermath of a public tragedy that befell her family. Her father murdered their small town's star athlete, and as a result Aysel carries a burden of guilt of the incident. There's also a part of her that wonders if she, too, will end up like her father. She suffers in silence, never allowing anyone in, even former friends that stood by her after the tragedy, convincing herself that it's for their benefit to not be associated with her. In fact, she's convinced her own mother and siblings would be better off without her, too, going as far to remind her younger sister that they are half-siblings whenever she can.
Her pain is real, and as someone who has suffered from depression and social isolation for the past 7 years and anxiety issues for longer than I can remember, I could relate to the "black slug" that she continues to reference throughout the novel. Depression is a hard thing to describe to someone who has never experienced it, and until I personally dealt with it, I can honestly say that I had no idea. Even to this day, I find it difficult to fully explain it to my husband who, bless his little heart, tries his very best to be as understanding as humanly possible. Fully understanding would involve him feeling this heavy thing and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy, let alone him. But it's great that he listens and it's even better that he's there and has that want to understand. So as I was reading, I found little quotes that perfectly described feelings that I've felt and I read them out loud to him.
Depression is like a heaviness that you can't ever escape. It crushes down on you, making even the smallest things like tying your shoes or chewing on toast seem like a twenty-mile hike uphill. Depression is a part of you; it's in your bones and your blood. If I know anything about it, this is what I know: It's impossible to escape.
Aysel's voice felt very true to her situation and worked well with a topic as heavy as this. It never felt like it needed more or less of that something for me to connect with what Aysel was saying because I completely understood where she was coming from. I've been there; I'm still there.
What people never understand is that depression isn't about the outside; it's about the inside. Something inside me is wrong. Sure, there are things in my life that make me feel alone, but nothing makes me feel more isolated and terrified than my own voice in my head.
I also loved how Roman described how he felt about missing his little sister because it reminds me of how I feel when I think of my little brother.
The hardest moments are when I miss her in the future.
After my brother passed away, for a long time, I had moments where it was like a part of my mind was still in denial. I'd see a commercial and absentmindedly think, "Oh man, wait till I tell Steve about this" and then remember that I couldn't do that and have a long cry. Sometimes I still do that and it hurts so much because life has gone on without him, I've gone on without him, and that feels wrong and unfair. So I completely related to Roman's grief of losing a sibling. And strangely, even though, this book made me remember certain feelings, it never depressed me. It was more like a bunch of "I know that feel, bro" moments while reading.
This is where Warga excels in My Heart and Other Black Holes and why the first 50% is so dead on. It's also why I said I was loving it around that marker.
Unfortunately, it went downhill from there.
Sometimes I just want to have a heart to heart with the book I'm reading. I want to invite it to tea and a spot on my comfy couch and tell them one thing: Look, I know you're a YA novel, but you don't always have to have a romance.
With the introduction to Roman, a boy who Aysel finds on a Suicide Partners forum, we get romance. Now, this is partly my fault, because if I actually read blurbs like a normal person before starting a book, I would have seen this part and ran the other way:
Even though Aysel and Roman have nothing in common, they slowly start to fill in each others' broken lives. But as their suicide pact becomes more concrete, Aysel begins to question whether she really wants to go through with it. Ultimately, she must choose between wanting to die or trying to convince Roman to live so they can discover the potential of their energy together.
This is problematic for me on so many levels.
1. Romanticization
I want to make this clear: I am not saying any of this is authorial intent. As soon as you introduce teenage romance to a a topic as heavy as this, you run this risk of it being romanticized. I saw moments of this when Roman started saying things like:
"You're you. You get it. you get all of it. And you're sad like me, and screwed up as that is, it's pretty beautiful." He reaches over and brushes his hand across my face, touching my hair. "You're like a gray sky. You're beautiful, even though you don't want to be."
This gave me pause because one of the reasons why Roman liked Aysel was because she was depressed and wanted to kill herself. But I was willing to let this go because at this point it seemed like only Roman had these twisted feelings while Aysel was bothered by it.
But he was wrong. It's not that I don't want to be. But I never wanted to be beautiful because I was sad. FrozenRobot of all people should know that there is nothing beautiful or endearing or glamorous about sadness. Sadness is only ugly, and anyone who thinks otherwise doesn't get it.
I was further bothered when other characters started pairing the couple off, telling them they looked cute together. But I still had hope because Aysel hadn't completely lost her grip on reality... yet.
If I have a boyfriend, his name is Death. And I'm pretty sure Roman is in love with him, too. It's like a love triangle gone wrong. Or maybe it's a love triangle gone right: we both get the guy on April 7.
I would have much preferred if the romance was left completely out. What Aysel needed was understanding and a person she could talk to. If there's one thing I've learned about depression, it's that it can't be conquered alone. Having someone who can relate to your own situation, who knows exactly how you're feeling, without having to spell it out to them, is invaluable. I have a person like that in my life and she is amazing and thoughtful and strong and she's probably reading this review right now, wondering if I'm talking about her. (Yes, it's you, Kat.) I literally don't know what I'd do if I had never met her. She is my person. So I get the need for her to connect to someone. It does help, but this needed to be accomplished without romanticizing the situation and it wasn't.
It's basically the same way I felt about The Fault in Our Stars: great idea, but the romance distracted from the central conflict and somehow made it all about their love. (Which is why I've been saying that Me, Earl and the Dying Girl is a much better alternative to The Fault in Our Stars.) Introducing this romance cheapened the story and the connection I thought I had to the characters. All of a sudden Roman is kissing Aysel, telling her how he wishes things could be different for them in another universe, but that she better not flake out on him come April 7th, that it changes nothing. It went from Aysel overcoming her demons and finding a reason to live to I'm in love with Roman, but he still wants to kill himself, let me save him with the new found love in my heart. And just no.
2. Love is the Cure-All
There comes a point in My Heart and Other Black Holes where Aysel has this AH-HA moment (ironically, sometime after kissing Roman--gag me) and decides she really doesn't want to die after all. Apparently, all it took was someone telling her it wasn't her fault for what her father did and she magically gets over her depression. Why? Because someone she has grown to care about accepted her and changed her in less than a month. There was way too much change in her attitude and outlook on life and not enough catalyst to justify it. That deeply bothered me.
I understand that she made a commitment to be stronger than her sadness, it was a great start. But depression is more than just sadness and is not something you can just decide to "get over" one day, especially if you've been suffering for years and are at the point where you are contemplating suicide. If the word "sad" were a bucket, depression would overflow it ten times over. Being depressed isn't a choice, it's a disease, a war within yourself. One where everyday is its own battle. It's not something that can be overcome by love alone. As awesome as that sounds, it's unrealistic.
3. Loose Ends
Aysel did have people in her life who was trying to reach out to her before Roman entered into the picture. Instead of the reader seeing Aysel get the closure she's been desperately craving, we get Aysel worried over Roman and his suicide attempt. Of course, this is why the romance felt so out of place and inappropriate to me: it monopolized the central conflict--Aysel's battle--and morphed into it being about Aysel saving Roman with love.
What I wanted was more closure with Aysel and her family. I was hoping we'd get to see them visiting her dad, finally letting her sister Georgia into her life, reconnecting with her mother, seeing a doctor for her problems. Asyel's broken family life was one of the biggest things that led to her depression and I was very disappointed to see this not addressed in the end. (Side note: I am scratching my head at Aysel's mother's decision making. She willingly left her daughter with her father knowing that he had violent tendencies? Never reached out to her further when she got remarried and had more kids? And then she was shocked to learn about her depression? Shocked that Aysel didn't come to her? HUH?)
By that time I was at 96% of the novel, I wanted to rage quit because I knew the book couldn't pull off what I needed it to. I was right because the final scene is full of Roman in the hospital after his failed suicide attempt and Aysel there confessing her love.
"Because loving you saved me. It's made me see myself differently, see the world differently. I owe you everything for that."
So much no.
My Heart and Other Black Holes could have been amazing. It could have been the book I'd recommend to really help people understand what it feels like to be depressed. The descriptions of grief were spot on and genuine. But the glamorized-suicidal-romantic-teen-love-fest killed any hope of redemption. I love a hope-filled story as much as the next person, and oh how I wish depression could just be cured with a little bit of love. I wish loving my husband and kids and them loving me in return could fix me. Love is a lot of things, but it is not a magic pill. This is real life, and real life is a lot more complicated and messy than that. What My Heart and Other Black Holes does do is give off a false hope with the road it took to achieving it almost impossible to attain. And that, frankly, depresses the hell out of me.
ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review.
More reviews and other fantastical things at ....more
Like most people, I have a strange and unexplainable fascination with all things Tudor, especially Anne Boleyn. Frankly, she wActual rating: 1.5 stars
Like most people, I have a strange and unexplainable fascination with all things Tudor, especially Anne Boleyn. Frankly, she was a badass in her own right and impacted English history so much even though this wasn't fully appreciated until many years after her unjust sentencing and beheading. Plus, I happen to love the Showtime TV series for three very delicious reasons: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Henry Cavil and Natalie Dormer. Meyers in particular was a spectacular Henry and it made my heart so happy. (Then I saw him in City of Bones earlier this year and had a sad.)
So when I happened to see this modern day, teenage retelling of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, I was all over that thing like white on rice. I had someÌýquestions and reservations as a lot of peeps did, I'm sure, but I held out hope for something awesome. I shouldn't have.
The really sad part? Anne & Henry started off great for me. I really felt like Anne's character captured Anne Boleyn's cunning and confidence perfectly. She was bold, in your face, unapologetic and had sass for days. I loved her character, even until the end. Her slow decent into despair over losing Henry's favor was the strongest point of this novel and the only saving grace, to be frank. Everything else kinda pissed me off like noting else.
The biggest issue I had was that Anne & Henry's story just doesn't seem to translate well into a modern day, teenage-angst-filled contemporary. Let me set the scene for you: Henry is the president of his school's student council, an aspiring politician and belongs to one of the most influential families in that community. Anne, on the other hand, is from poorer beginnings, her mother marries into wealth and moves to Henry's community before the start of the novel. No one accepts Anne and her mother, naturally, but of course, Henry notices Anne immediately and can't seem to shake her from his head because she's not like the girls he's used to. >insert dramatic side-eyeÌýhere< Oh wait... Meyers has a gif for that.
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If you're familiar with what happened to the real Anne Boleyn, then you already know the bare bones of the plot. Henry's closest friends and confidants don't care for Anne and feel she poses a threat to him. So they conspire to set her up. This part of the book is true to history. But, as I said before, this is much smaller scale. In real life, many people dislikedÌýAnne because of her Protestant beliefs and because her relationship with Henry led to him annulling his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, his excommunication from Catholic Church and, eventually, the English Reformation.
So how do you do this on a high school scale? Simple answer: you don't because you can't.
In Anne & Henry, people dislike Anne because she simply "doesn't fit in" and isn't "the right girl" for Henry. She also is painted as a bad influence (she rides a motorcycle, drinks, is comfortable in her body [read: slut] and distracts Henry from his future goals of eventually becoming president) and gold digger. Anne doesn't dramatically change Henry's views or theÌýschool or the community. She registers as nothing more than a blip on a radar. There's no evidence to suggest ANYONE thought of her after the events in the book. (The only real similarity I could pick out is that favor of the people remained with Catherine throughout the book.) So it's in this way that I wonder what the point was of writing a re-telling? Take out all the historical names and I probably would have pegged this as a random YA contemporary with casual slut-shaming.
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In many ways, the novel trivialized the real Anne's story because she had bigger problems other than just losing her teenaged boyfriend. I'm not usually a fan of YA novels that rely on the whole "even though I'm 16 years old, I plan to be with this teen boy forever and ever because I'm in love" trope. I get that those feelings exist, I do. But those stories fail more often than they succeed for me because I don't connect well with those relationships. And that's pretty much exactly what happens in Anne & Henry. The passion is fast and strong, which, unfortunately, didn't work well with the pacing and made it bodyrock onto the insta-love dance floor. And at one point, I was starting to get frustrated by the lack of sexy times because of all the sexual tension I was getting pounded with (hahah, puns). Thankfully, there is exactly ONE and it'sÌýyour standard issued fade-to-black scene, and thusly, very anticlimactic.
Actually everything about this novel was pretty anticlimactic and after the 50% mark and I struggled to stay interested. Even after the motorcycle accident, which was supposed to be the climax, zero fucks could be conjured. Meyers and I were extremely disappointed.
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Then the last 75% descended into ultimate frustration because of Henry. Anne & Henry is told in duel point-of-view and we have the unfortunate calamity to be in Henry's head when he's at his worst and being a colossal dick. He blames Anne for their drunken motorcycle accident (because it made him look bad, not because he could have gotten hurt!); blames Anne when his best friend, who he knows she hates, is found in a picture kissing her; blames Anne for the entire Party from Hell even though he knows his friends purposefully got her drunk, set her up and took advantage of her. Then he held a mock trial to expel her from school, her charges ranging from cursing on school grounds to accidentally damaging school property. Such a catch, this one.
I know the biggest question here is this: Does Anne lose her head? And to that I answer: yes and no. It's metaphoric and I think the only persons to really grasp the metaphor is Anne and the reader. So by the end, I was angry for Anne's sake because like history, Anne's trial was unjust and a heaping pile of dog shit, but as a modern day retelling, it doesn't conjure up the same amount feelings. Historians can look back at the real Anne's trial and see the holes, but I'd like to think with advancements in science, thinking and hindsight, that helped contribute to the finding of those holes. But Anne & Henry has the benefit of modern technology and hard evidence, most of which Henry had available to him and chose not to use just because and it completely conflicted with the kind of person Ius developed from the beginning.
Perhaps the most frustrating part is that I was secretly hoping that Ius would break the mold and give Anne some sort of justice. But maybe the peace of mind comes from the fact that she did not, in fact, literally die in this retelling. Still, it would have been nice to see heads roll...
Should you read Anne & Henry? I don't know. It's not a book I can put my seal of approval on, but I won't smack your hand if you were picking it up in a bookstore. I'd definitely say this is one feels like a library rental more than anything else due to the reduction of history's most iconic figuresÌýto high school stereotypes. But on the plus side, it's a fairly short read, so there's that. As for me, I'm going to do the same thing I did when I saw Jonathan Rhys Meyer's performance in ...
[image]
...and pretend itÌýnever happened.
ARC was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss.
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This 5 star rating might come as a surprised to some of you who know how conflicted Red Rising left me. In fact, it's one of the only books I've read,This 5 star rating might come as a surprised to some of you who know how conflicted Red Rising left me. In fact, it's one of the only books I've read, but NOT rated. How often does that happen? Hmm... never. So how did I go from "unable to rate book one" to "loving book 2 something fierce"? The short and lazy answer is, I don't know. The long and complicated version is this review. Huzzah!
Golden Son is a remarkable improvement over some of the issues I had with Red Rising. The writing and plot are noticeably stronger. The characters are fleshed out more. The action and suspense are cranked up several more notches. Really, I couldn't ask forÌýmore in a sequel.
FixedÌýIssue #1: Super Slow Beginning
First off, unlike Red Rising where I struggled with the first 100 pages, Golden Son starts off strong with plenty of action to keep the reader interested. Since the pesky job of worldÌý building has been taken care of long, it gave Brown the opportunity to focus on what really mattered: making heads roll. What surprised me with Golden Son was just how many heads actually did roll, but more on that later.
The majority of this novel focuses on Darrow outside the academy and the war he purposefully started. We find out a lot more about the Sons of Ares and the inner workings of the politics of the Golds. I was a little wary about that because a ton of political intrigue can lead to boredom. But in this case, that was not something that ever happened.
Fixed Issue #2: Treatment of Female Characters
My biggest issue with Red Rising was the treatment of female characters, specifically Mustang. I felt she was put into deliberate situations that forced Darrow to swoop in and save her lest her virtue be ruined. I'm so over that trope in books, so I was disappointed to see it in Red Rising.
The good news is that Brown clearly took more care with showing us Mustang's strength. (slight spoilers, but not really) There's one scene in Golden Son where Darrow finally has a chance to talk to Mustang after certain events have pulled them apart and she ends up close with Cassius. He claims that he understands how she must feel, but she quickly corrects him. This is my favorite scene in the entire book:
"Now, I'm sure you understand that I felt lost. One, because I thought I'd found someone special in you. Two, because I felt you were abandoning the idea that gave us the ability to conquer Olympus. Consider that I was vulnerable. Lonely. And that perhaps I fell into Cassius's bed because I was hurt and needed a salve to my pain. Can you imagine that? You may answer."
I squirm on my cushion. "I suppose."
"Good. Now shove that idea up your ass." Her lips make a hard line. "I am not some frill-wearing tramp. I am a genius. I say this because it is a fact. I am smarter than any person you've met, except perhaps my twin. My heart does not make my brain a fool."
I really love how confident Mustang is in that scene and how unashamed she is about it. In that same scene, she goes on to tell him that he is not as invincible as he thinks and how he needs her if he has any hope of winning the war.
I just really wished Darrow listened more. (view spoiler)[ If there was one thing that I had issue with, it's that if Darrow had repaired his friendship with Roque, none of the events in the ending would have happened. Servo and Mustang kept telling him over and over, "Fix that, Darrow" and he would agree, but never makes strides to actually do it. I just wanted to shake him and say, "You are at war! You need all your allies to be completely on your side!!"ÌýMy problem was that the foreshadowing for that was too obvious. I knew that eventually it would lead to something devastating. (hide spoiler)]
FixedÌýIssue #3: Darrow's a Super Gary Stu
This can't be denied. No matter how much I admit to liking Red Rising, there was no doubt about it: Darrow was a Gary Stu in every possible way. He's The One. The Only One who can bring down the Golds and help the Reds rise. He can overcome any situation, no matter how horrible or impossible. I can completely see why this may bother some readers even if the novel contains intense fight scenes and dramatic rescues. It just gets to a point where you start to say, "COME ON ALREADY."
Golden Son completely crushes that. Right from the first scene in the book, we see Darrow failing at something important and non one wants anything to do with him besides Roque. It was a little jarring to see Darrow that low, considering how far he had fallen. But shortly after, Brown played an interesting hand that *somewhat* annoyed me and the Gary Stu-ness returned in Full Gundam Force. However, just like in Red Rising, this didn't bother me much because I was too focused on fact that Darrow was busy giving someone the ass beating of a lifetime. What can I say? Priorities, I've got them.
What's interesting is how the other characters continually call Darrow out on his apparent invincibility several times. My favorite one being this quote:
“You are but a mortal," Roque whispers in my ear, riding his horse alongside the chariot, as per tradition. "And a whorefart," Servo calls from the other side. "Yes," Roque agrees solemnly. "That too.�
OMG THE ENDING THO.
When the ending finally came, I realized Brown had me right where he wanted me (get your minds out of the gutter). After thinking that Darrow could pull through out of anything that opposed him, I was not prepared for the ending. Truly, the last 25% of this novel is what bumped my rating from 4 starts to 5. There was so much death in that scene that it made Red Rising look like child's play. And that took balls. It made me angry, shocked, confused and immensely distraught. I absolutely have no idea how Darrow is supposed to pull through this mess. It's that bad.
My feelings are so conflicted about the ending, it can only be described by way of Kanye and Jay-Z lyrics.
Ball so hard. DatÌýshit cray. BITCH BEHAVE.
Then there's my ship. Mustang and The Reaper. I really need this to work out. This is my OTP. My ship that I might just go down with. Unfortunately, Brown hasn't said anything to calm my fears and I'm sitting on the edge of my seat in fear.
Bloodydamn.
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Well, this was terrible. I hated everything but the cover.
I’m proud of myself for finishing this The Queen of the Tearling even though it’s turned outWell, this was terrible. I hated everything but the cover.
I’m proud of myself for finishing this The Queen of the Tearling even though it’s turned out to be one of my most disappointing reads this year. HarperCollins was really pushing this title marking-wise, and while it’s not considered YA, they did offer it to quite a few YA bloggers for consideration for review. I had to be the special person to request it. I wish I hadn’t have done that.
The Queen of the Tearling tried to do a lot of things and that’s its biggest problem. You can’t have a high fantasy, historic society set in the future and NOT do any type of world building. You can’t have set rules up in your world only to break it because MAGIC. It’s not nice to tease the reader from the very beginning of SECRETS and have you supporting cast dangle it in from of us like a carrot for the entirety of the novel and NEVER TELL US by the end. Because that’s exactly what happened. It really made me question what the point of the novel was considering I learned nothing new about the plot or characters by the end.
I’m also surprised this was marketed as Adult to YA readers when it really is just a poorly plotted MG fantasy. For all this book had going for it � and it had a lot, including a movie deal with Emma Watson attached to star! � I expected so much more. I expected to be blown away, and maybe that was part of the problem, but really the level of SUCK contained in The Queen of the Tearling is baffling. I don’t recommend it at all....more
I really tried to love this, but when it was apparent that it was impossible, I would have settled for "like" insDNF'd at 52%
1. Abusive Love Interest:
I really tried to love this, but when it was apparent that it was impossible, I would have settled for "like" instead. Unfortunately, none of the 52% that I read convinced me to stick it out until the end. Instead, I was given Malek, the abusive asshole, who I'm told later, is a part of the love triangle. It's possible that this could be a bit of Stockholm going one, but I couldn't care less at this point because I've lost interest. He throws her against a wall hard enough to cause a knot to form on her head and bruises her arms. Nalia makes excuses for his behavior, Malek feels guilt and I'm sitting here fuming. The way the novel was going, it conveniently had a reasoning for his behavior (he just can't help he's a violent (view spoiler)[half-Ifrit (hide spoiler)]!) and I just could not.
2. Boring:
NOTHING happens in the first half. Nalia goes shopping, talks about her past life, goes dancing, talks about her past life, goes to a party, and talks about her past life. There was just way too much set up and not enough action.
3. The World-Building Didn't Feel Organic:
The characters would be in the middle of dialogue and all of the sudden we have to have a 3 page flashback or history lesson. It felt out of place and disrupted the scenes. They also felt forced, and for this to feel like it was upper YA, I was constantly underwhelmed. It's like Demetrios spent so much time trying to build an atmosphere, describing so many things at once that they ended up conflicting with the story she was trying to tell.
4. Just... NO
From her fingertips to her elbows, the henna-like tattoos of her race crawled over her cinnamon skin
I really, really hate when a non-white character's skin is described with food. I was excited that this book featured diverse characters, but disappointed with how they were described.
As much as I was looking forward to this book, it's just not be for me. ...more
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