A Title, a Release Date, and a Cover!

At last all, we have a title for the fourth installment of the Throne of Glass series! The title will be

Queen of Shadows

It won't be released until September 1st... 

So even though I'm minorly upset...

... Okay, quite upset.

I've got more news!

End of Days, the third installment of the Penryn and the End of Days series has a cover! 

It's preettty!

Pretty awesome, right?

So, just thought I'd share with everyone following closely enough to be as excited as I am!

Delirium review

Just finished Delirium. I’m a little overcome with emotion I’m not ashamed to admit. That was a pretty intense final scene.

What I Liked: 

The overall idea. I also like the thoroughness of it. The Book of Shh…, the nursery rhymes, the new religious texts, etc. It gave a depth that some YA doesn’t have, which I definitely appreciate.

Moderate symbolism. The Governor statue, and certain little things that symbolically added a depth to Lena’s inner monologues.

Their relationship/Alex. Alex is that passionate character, but not so passionate he’s unrealistic as a male character, that I love to read about because they are generally paired with a more complacent, weaker character. It generally works because this is a relationship where the female generally benefits from witnessing his strength and becomes determined to strengthen themselves emotionally, and in the case of these dystopian novels, physically. In real life it's important to build each other emotionally, psychologically, and maybe if you're that kind of couple sure, physically too. So I’m excited for the next book to see where Lena is emotionally after all of these ordeals. 

The ending. Very charged, very emotional, and the epitome of sacrifice. Love it, wouldn’t change a single thing, and I’m happy they didn’t change that (pretty much the only thing they didn’t change) in the pilot.

What I Didn’t Like:

Lena’s Weakness. Earlier I said that I loved Alex for his passion and his strength. Well, the downfall to that is usually, the passionate and strong character is paired with a weak character, generally pretty annoying. Lena annoyed the piss out of me, not going to downplay it. But I’m already seeing a slight transformation and I am hoping she continues to strengthen herself to further the cause and just to better herself.

The Romeo and Juliet references. Unless the ending symbolically or literally ends in double suicide due to unescapable circumstances, or there is a feud between their families, or they get married three days after meeting... no, not even then. I’d say no novel should make any sort of reference to Romeo and Juliet. ………

EVER!

Overall, I loved Oliver’s writing, I enjoyed her style a LOT better than the bluntness of Before I Fall, and I loved the thoroughness of this society she created without love or anything referring to that emotion. The concept itself got me thinking about the pros and cons of living without love. Of course I chose that it’s much better to live with it than without it, but it was still an interesting inner debate I’m proud to say no one will ever have to witness.

I rate this novel 4/5 PG-13, and will report on Pandemonium soon! Tune in!

If I Stay Movie Review

I saw If I Stay quite a while ago, and was so super stoked since I read the book a couple of months before. I’m going to put a spoiler in for this review… I loved it! The film blew me away just like the novel did. Every character was significant, every event flowed into each other.

What I Loved: 

Though I wasn’t sold on Chloe Moretz playing Mia in the appearance department, her portrayal was flawless! She really became the Mia I pictured.

Adam was more flawed in the movie than he appeared in the novel, which I loved because too many times we have a perfect book-boyfriend and he’s perfect and nothing is wrong and he’s just an angel and perfect… Can we say unrealistic? We all know Adam is a fucked up guy with a past and does some fucked up stuff. But through all of that I fell in love with him in the novel and I did all over again in the movie. Well done!

Her parents were perfectly cast and performed beautifully!

The music was spectacular! It’s very difficult to capture the essence of music in writing, which Gayle Forman nailed, but I was concerned about how well they would translate the music elements to screen. I have no complaints. The music worked with the scenery, the mood, the characters incredibly well and Adam’s songs were beautifully written/composed.

What I Didn’t Like:

Though they touched on Adam and Kim’s stressed relationship, I do wish they had focused on it a little more in scenes like at the hospital both when he was kicked out as well as when he was absolutely losing it.

5/5 stars! Absolutely adored it!

I will surely buy the movie once it comes out on DVD and bluray and I will watch it again and again and again. I somewhat hope for Where She Went to come to the big screen as well, but I’m not sure…

What did you think of the movie? Also, would you like to see them come back for Where She Went?

The Mortal Instruments: Book vs. Movie Review

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc4CiTvQ-YE

I would say that it is safe to say nearly everyone has seen this trailer or this movie cover, or both! 

Even though the movie came out about a year ago, I read the book around the same time, and I decided to hold my book review until after I saw the movie and let me just go ahead and say that at first I absolutely hated the movie!

They changed a lot mainly just the order of the plot or how certain events unfolded. But after a couple of days to mull over these changes before writing the review, I’ve decided that I actually kind of like these changes!

Let me explain a little more clearly.

Book review:

What I LOVED!!!:

Romance! Whoa, do I love romance! And I just gotta say that action is not such a bad thing either. Cassandra Clare seems to have a knack for describing action, blood, and making the whole situation not so… well… forced or lame. We’ve all read those action stories where everyone threw everyone through the air, and the ever present “somehow landed perfectly on their feet,” pummeled people into the dirt, and screamed each others names so much you wonder if they just say it so many times to make sure they haven’t forgotten. But along with the action was beautiful romance and beautifully scripted scenes of adorableness and romance.

The plot. The book flowed like a dream! I haven’t read a book that flowed so nicely since Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. Every detail given had a purpose, had a thought, had a revelation tied to it whether it be in the next two pages or the next several chapters.

The angst!!! Despite how much action there is in this book, those beautiful bits of romance I described added so much of the teen angsty mess that I love and hate so much. Let’s face it ladies, we’re complex creatures and you just can’t have nice things sometimes because we just have to have situations be total pains in the arse. (See my vent on romance novels for more of a rant on this topic). The angst that I hate (love to hate is more like it) added a lot and defined this novel as what it is. This is a paranormal romance novel. There can not be a romance novel without angst (once again, see the reasons we can’t have nice things in my other topic). Bottom line, it’s a romance novel with some kick ass action!

Emotion. Cassandra Clare has a talent for describing emotions that Clary and other characters are feeling. She has a knack for finding all perspectives and interjecting them to make the reader just that more insightful on the full weight of each situation these teens find themselves in.

What I HATED!!!! 

The angst! Like I said, love to hate!

WTFFFFF????!

Okay, I’ve gotta say it [MAJOR SPOILER ALERT HEEEREE!]

The whole incest thing. Really? Just really? THIS IS WHY WE CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGSSSS!!! As soon as a girl, a perfectly relatable character that is headstrong without being a bitch, finds a guy who is (I’ll admit a pain in the ass, but that pain in the ass guy in a good kind of pain in the ass way) not totally irritating, they end up being RELATED?!!!!? I mean… REALLY?! Clare… WTF?!!!?

And on top of themes of incest, they just go ALONG with it! They just believe the villain.

Yeah. Because that’s my first instinct is to BELIEVE the guy who is hollering and preaching about cleaning races. To paraphrase Clary from the movie, “you know… when people start talking about superior races and keeping blood pure things do not go well….”

That doesn’t make sense to me at all!!!!

I rate the first installment of the Mortal Instruments series 5/5 stars!!! <3

Okay, now on to the movie review!

The movie was a bit complicated for me. On one hand, it is different from the book, but on the other hand, after a little bit of thinking, I realized that is not such a bad thing for this series. Let me explain.

Needless to say there are going to be a LOT of SPOILERS because of the fact I will be comparing the movie and the book. So if you have not read the book and want to or have not seen the movie and want to (I highly recommend either!!!!) please skip to where I review the actors.

Changes:

1. They show a lot of the scenes that Clary wasn’t there for. This change was great for the film adaption. It made it more like a… well, movie. I always hate those movies where they are made for the book fans (ie, Cloud Atlas, Beautiful Creatures). As a movie goer, despite the fact that I knew what was happening behind the scens, I was pleased that they gave those explanations as they were happening, to spare me from questions from the friends I went with.

2. How Clary and Jace meet. The movie version was just… a lot more awkward than I felt it needed to be. It seemed to go a lot smoother in the book and for that reason I rate that scene pretty low. 

3. Isabelle and Alec being there for the big Vampire invasion. I honestly did not like this change. Out of this change, there were a million others. IE, Simon did not become a rat. I felt there was some significant symbolism to this but oh well, it was thrown away. What did they replace it with? Puncture wounds on his neck. I just don’t think it was supposed to be that obvious, but I guess leading the horse to water...

Overall, I was just disappointed that they went to the battle because this was Jace and Clary’s fight and I felt like it should have stayed that way. Don’t get me wrong, the scene was AMAZING!!! I loved watching the fight, especially those few moments when Jace was concerned about Clary.

4. The kiss. There wasn’t a lot of change with that one and I liked how they did it overall. :3 The kiss was not absolutely horrid to watch, something new for teen phenomenons nowaddays *Cough cough* Twilight. And that awkward aftermath!!! Wow they did a great job! Writing and playing out.

5. Valentine’s deceit. When he tells Jace about the relation, I liked how it happened in the movie the same as in the book. Either way pleases me. However, what I don’t care for as far as plot goes, is the fact that Valentine fights Jace. Like, knocking the shit out of him type of fighting. What kind of father would do that? So for the plot reasons I hate this change because it doesn’t really help him argue his “you’re my son” lie. Valentine is smart, that’s his character because who has ever heard of a stupid villain? It can’t be done! But this fight was STUPID!!! Valentine would not risk Jace seeing through his lie like that! As far as the action goes though, the fight was VERY well choreographed and I loved watching it!

6.  The mortal cup. Okay. That is the one MAJOR change that I am actually very upset with. First of all, at the end of the book

*MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!!!!*

they don’t even have the cup in their possession. But in the movie, Clary kept the card to keep the cup hidden. Call me crazy, but changing a MAJOR event… oh let’s say the ENDING!!!! I would say is not very smart. >:( 

C’mon people! Think with those noodles called brains!

So now I’m just curious how they are going to recover from that…

9. The portal. I could deal with the portal being revealed and played with early in the movie. That was cute and whatever… but… they blew it up! 

I sure hope that they didn’t need that in the future because that fucker is gone!

8. The very end. I do have to say though, that I liked Jace telling Clary he didn’t believe their “father”. It was super romantic and sweet and it really redeemed the cliffhanger we received from the book. 

Things they COULD have thrown out:

1. Alec’s sexual orientation. Though it will come into play a lot more in the future, and the fans probably wouldn’t have liked it being tossed out… but if anything out of the fight he and Clary have, I felt that his sexual preferences were on the bottom of the priority list as far as what is most important to the plot. Movies aren’t always that great at character development whereas books have as much time as the author pleases to have it. If anything I think Alec’s less than impressive Demon killing rate would have been something to throw at his face than his love for Jace. 

THE ACTORS:

Lily [Clary]: Well… She was good. In my opinion not a 10/10. She’s… okay. I found her acting pretty over the top at times and incredibly unbelievable through… well… most of it. I understand that she is playing a tough role because Clary herself is going through some tough times and doesn’t really know how to react herself… But honestly, Lily tried just a BIT too hard. I hate comparing actors… but she was ALMOST as bad as Kirsten Stewert in the first two Twilight movies. The same way Kirsten breathed WAAAAAAAY too much in an attempt to seem flustered or nervous, < http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vlQd9w0w_4 >  Lily was a little too excited to rush through her lines to figure out what was going on. Though I will definitely say that she redeemed herself as the romance picked up and as Clary gained her confidence. I love her looks though. She is a gorgeous girl and I thought she looked JUST like the Clary I imagined in my head so plus to the casting directors on that one! I predict she will get better as the series continues and I definitely look forward to seeing the growth! I give her a 7/10 on her performance.

Jaime [Jace]: Okay, I have to admit a bias here… I have loved Jaime’s work since I saw him play Antony in Sweeney Todd. I think he is an excellent actor and this movie is no different! He plays cool very well and fights very, very well! I will spare everyone my fangirl review of Jaime and just leave it at I really don’t have any complaints. The one liner jokes were delivered very well and he was able to pull off a very complex character. My overall review is 10/10!

Robert [Simon]: I didn’t have high expectations with Simon, mainly because he wasn’t my highest priority while reading the books, but Robert really did blow me away! He turned a pretty small (but VERY significant character) not only significant but memorable! He was believable, and at times pitiful! I loved his portrayal of a guy being friend-zoned (we have all been there I’m sure).  He plays freaked-out well (something I think Lily can learn from him as I feel he didn’t over-act it and gave us the accurate amount of freak out without well… Kristen Stewert-ing. 9/10

Jonathan [Valentine]: Whoa! He has come a long way from August Rush and Tudors. I watched August Rush soooo many times as a kid and so it is very surprising to me that I didn’t see August’s dad every time I saw him. I saw Valentine. He was able to recreate himself into a new character (I truly appreciate that because I sometimes have those actors that I love for one role, and that one role—period.) He honestly became Valentine for me. Though I feel bad for him because he had to deal with some pretty lame writing. IE, he had to fight his own son even though I think we all agree that was probably a stupid move on Valentine’s part (or should I say the writers?) So for the script he was given, I think Jonathan absolutely NAILED it! Also, they changed his look. Not his fault, but still frustrating. 10/10

Overall for he entire series I give it a 9/10 and agree with the PG-13 rating.
<3
The Reviewer

Before I Fall

A Mean Girls Groundhog day for Sam Kingston where she relives the last day of her life for a whole week.

The beginning was so irritatingly Mean Girls, I almost abandoned it. But with encouragement from my Tumblr followers, I finished, and I will admit that I am glad I finished.

What I Liked:

With each day she grew up a little bit, obviously. I liked the Samantha she became, the Samantha that didn’t care what people thought and finally stood up for her best interests. 

Slowly falling in love with Kent. It reminds me of John Green’s “I fell in love the same way I fall asleep. Slowly at first, then all at once.” It felt like that, and having experience in the falling in love department, I can honestly say that that is how it feels.

Despite the irritating metaphors and similes, I liked Sam’s attitude. Yes, she was a bitch, it’s not always super easy changing one’s ways, and though it shouldn't take a death-experience (nonetheless near-death) to have one decide they need to be nice, at least it happened before she died.

What I Didn’t Like:

It kept reading as though some of the other characters knew what was happening. Like saying you’ve been acting strange, or the fact that on the last day Sam somehow miraculously knew that the seventh day would be her last. Anyone notice that? She said on her way to Kent’s party that it would be her last. How does she know? I doubt she meant that even if she comes back she won’t go to the party anymore. She tried that, and besides that if she wanted to be around Kent, his party would be the best place to be. So… yeah, little plothole there, pretty irritating.

Her trying so desperately to save Juliet (Hate that name, for the record but luckily I see no R&J references so… I guess we’re okay this time). I understand apologizing and doing what you can, but honestly (SPOILER) I don’t think that killing off Sam was the best thing to teach. Do what you can, but after a while, the responsibility does not fall on Sam anymore. Sensitive topic, so I’ll leave it at that.

(SPOILER) The teacher/Sam action was ridiculously creepy. I understand why it was necessary, but still it was creepy. Also, another plothole with that scenario, on the day after that whole creepy action happened, he was super creepy with her, more than he was on the other days, as though he remembered what they almost did, or it implies they’ve done it before. Why would he be more creepy with her that day even without her flirting when he hadn’t been the other days when she was flirting? Hmmmm….

Overall, despite some holes, and despite the horrid Mean Girls quality, I enjoyed the story and what Lauren Oliver had to say about what it means to be a good person and the overall topic of dying.

3/5

Dead of Winter; Killer of all Feeling

Finished Dead of Winter by the torture expert Kresley Cole.
It was a short little book, a disappointment. But was action packed and filled with romance, history, quick wit, and once again more action.
What I Loved was that it was Kresley Cole's usual fantastic writing filled with character development, plot twists, conflicted feelings, tragedy, and comedy.
Kresley Cole tends to use character development as a plot device as much as a usual literary device. I love this practice as it truly is the development of the characters that makes the story and keeps the story going, never mind crises going on around them, it's how these characters react to stresses that truly shapes the story, and Cole gets that.
Of course, in any YA story, you need some romance. Since this is Kresley Cole we're talking about, this story is packed with romance. And with both love interests caught together with poor little Evie caught between them, you're bound to find ridiculous amounts of tension, comedy, and of course heartache. Though it is rather admittedly ridiculous to put romance so high on the priority list when in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, it still makes for an interesting story.
Also, we learn so much more about Jack and Aric both that make each so much more interesting, desirable, and infuriating. Evie's decision between the two (or neither) is a hard one.  I will interrupt myself to interject that I admire Cole for allowing Evie to recognize that she could choose eternal singledom and tell both guys to piss off. Though she clearly doesn't want that and has a true dilemma on her hands of which guy is better made for her, he guy that she has history with and will tell it to her straight, or the guy that she has more recent history with and ridiculous chemistry with, but will do anything, even lie to her, if it means keeping her safe. (I will personally always side with Jack mostly because I always ship the first guy in the love triangle (Edward Twilight, Dorian Throne of Glass, Jace Mortal Instruments, Peeta Hunger Games, and the list goes on.)
Any way, the way that their journey progresses is such emotional gold I can't even describe it!
What I Couldn't Stand would be limited to the fact that Kresley Cole ALWAYS ends with a ridiculous cliffhanger!!!

NOW I have to wait another YEAR until I find out if one of my favorite characters is even ALIVE!!! I will not spoil which one, though I bet you guys can probably guess. 

I would have to say that the fact I only had that one complaint would be pretty telling of how much I love this book and this series. For anyone reading this review, know that this is the third installment and not the last. You should definitely start off with Poison Princess and continue on with Endless Knight. Though it may be wise to wait until closer to 2016 so you do not have to suffer as I will.

Overall, I give this installment a 5/5 and rate it PG-16 for the sheer reason that I can't rate this one lower than the one previous.

Guys, guys, guys...

Guys.


Yesterday, I got Dead of Winter, by Kresley Cole.
And it's BEAUTIFUL!!! :D

Also, got to see the most incredible Halestorm!

They were quite beautiful, and don't be alarmed, but I'm pretty sure I'm in love.

Endless Knight

Wow. Wow, wow, wow! I LOVED this sequel! 

Evie and Jackson have many new obstacles to face this time around. More bagmen, zombies, new Arcana, old Arcana, and of course Death. Evie felt she knew exactly who was on her side, who she must rid the world of, and most importantly who she wanted to give her heart to. But when Death separates her from Jack, and new revelations alter all Evie thought she knew about the world A.F., she must choose, and this choice could be deadly.

What I Loved:

Relationships. Even though the thought of fighting for a relationship while trying to survive the early months of the apocalypse is pretty silly in reality, I love how they still make it work. Even with the rest of the world dead, there is still love and people still care about each other. And despite Jackson’s coldness at times, they have a pretty steady relationship going on.

Depth. Cole has a knack for allowing the reader to know what is going on from as many perspectives as possible while still remaining in Evie’s point of view.

Character Development. Once again the character development was beautifully executed. I always knew who I was reading about and what their personalities were like.

Who to trust? Though this is also on the list of things I hated, the constant doubt was a believable and necessary part to the story. Especially at the final cliff-hanger.

Evie fighting her nature. The Empress, Evie’s card, her alter-ego of sorts, is one seriously bad bitch. The Empress was ruthless in past “games” and is a huge foil to Evie herself (a beautiful parallel to
Jack and Aric as foils as one side of herself loves one and the other loves the other.)

New kind of love triangle. In this love triangle one is a clear choice over the other, but then another side of thinking makes one choice better over the other. In this love triangle, even I’m confused! Though I generally want the protagonist to stay with the first love interest (always, never fails), I really don’t know this time.

What I Hated:

Who to trust?! As I said, irritating but necessary.

Likability of the Villain. After a while, Aric seemed more and more like a human being and it was really starting to annoy. It makes it super hard to hate someone that is so relatable.

14 years rating. About halfway through the novel I checked out the back of the book, for no reason in particular, and saw that this book was recommended for ages 14 and up. I know I was reading worse when I was 14, so I’m a bit of a hypocrite, but I don’t think a PUBLISHING HOUSE should RECOMMEND this novel to 14 year olds. I would say the recommendation should be 16 and up due to sexual content and detailed intense action. Perhaps that is just me though.

Cliff-fucking-hanger! ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!.

That is all.

WTF?!

Blackmailing. (SPOILER ALERT!) This is part of the fucking godawful cliff-hanger. At the end, Jack is in danger and Death is not only willing to allow Evie to go, but will go himself and bring his army along IF she chooses him and sleeps with him first. Really? Fucking really? Evie asked him to wait simply out of respect for her wanting both sides of a horrible story. Jack was willing to wait for her, but Death? Hmmm….

Ogen. Just… Ogen…. Every time he was described I pretty much had a

on my face.

Overall, i give this novel a 5/5 star rating. As I already said I feel this novel should be recommended for 16 year olds and older. I really loved this installment, even more than the first and I can not wait for the final installment which will be published tomorrow! And I wouldn't be a book nerd without asking off work for the event! Hopefully I'll be able to report on Dead of Winter soon after it's release!

Spellbinding, Poison Princess Review

In honor of the release of Dead of Winter in two days, I will post my reviews of Poison Princess and Endless Knight and hopefully I will update everyone with a review on Dead of Winter as close to it's release as possible!

I read this nearly a year ago and I'm still very impressed when I think about it.
It was very original and unique, well written, frustrating, engaging, and best of all I couldn't put it down!

What I Loved:
The originality. I have not read nor heard of a book like this one. In a world where vampires and fallen angels basically run the paranormal subgenre, it’s nice to finally get insight on something a little less well-known. 

I love a book that personifies Gods or other supernatural beings in humans, like Percy Jackson in example. This was a very original idea and I just can’t get over the fact that I never would have thought of this before!

Character development. FINALLY we’ve got some! Though their basic personality makeup was laid out at the beginning, Cole developed on it, didn’t stray too far from their predetermined marks and kept their personalities consistent, and best of all we see a growth without them having a random change of heart that changes their entire makeup.

Cole spared no detail. She really showed how these people coped with living in a post-apocalyptic crater and really thought through all of the possibilities and limits to these possibilities. Brilliant!

I am also a sucker for integrating foreign languages into books, like Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles for example, and though some of the times I was not sure how accurate the translations were, I still enjoyed the aspect!

What I Didn’t Like

The sex thing pretty much went like…

It was an awkward part of the book, though I’ll admit a very important angle when we talk post-apocalyptic stories. No one is ever ballsy enough to include sex in YA novels and Cole took it and ran it waaaaaaaaay over the line! It's funny though because I don't think most post-apocalyptic novels focus on the disadvantages to having sex in a post-apocalyptic world. The idea that, even if you find condoms, will they work and what if they fail? Good job, bringing a baby into the post-apocalyptic wasteland complete with zombies and homicidal teenagers in a Hunger Games-esque murder-spree.

Now, I will admit that for the first 100-150 pages I was very underwhelmed and not impressed. Luckily, I kept with it and I really do like this story a lot!

Sometimes Jackson and Evie get on my LAST nerve with their stubbornness, moodiness, and overall selfishness. In the respect of representing teenagers and how they would interact in a post-apocalyptic situation, however, Cole hit the nail right on the head.

There were actually quite a few points in this book that seemed to be overlooked by editors in the grammar department. That is always ridiculously frustrating for me, a grammar-path, to read a professionally published piece of writing and find typos, too many commas, not enough commas, or no space after commas!

Oh, and wow I literally just realized this… Evangeline is the Empress card (control of plants and greenery) and her last name is Greene.

Really? Name puns? Symbolism like with Selena that makes sense and I enjoy that but… puns…. Okay… I swear I’m done that’s my own personal pet peeve.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, I give it a 4/5 and a PG-15 rating for sexual situations and disturbing imagery and symbolism.
<3
The Reviewer