Waiting on Wednesday #4: Soundless by Richelle Mead

Soundless, by Richelle Mead
Publication: November 10, 2015, by RazorBill
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Romance, Fantasy
Pages: 272
Format: Hardcover

From Richelle Mead, the #1 internationally bestselling author of Vampire Academy and Bloodlines, comes a breathtaking new fantasy steeped in Chinese folklore. 
For as long as Fei can remember, there has been no sound in her village, where rocky terrain and frequent avalanches prevent residents from self-sustaining. Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs from Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom.
When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink and many go hungry. Fei’s home, the people she loves, and her entire existence is plunged into crisis, under threat of darkness and starvation.
But soon Fei is awoken in the night by a searing noise, and sound becomes her weapon.
Richelle Mead takes readers on a triumphant journey from the peak of Fei’s jagged mountain village to the valley of Beiugo, where a startling truth and an unlikely romance will change her life forever...

OKAY. So I was really stupid at BEA because I completely missed the chance to grab myself an ARC. Later on, I discovered that Penguin had a galley drop and I THOUGHT THAT IT WAS WAITING FOR ME AT HOME, BUT THEN IT WASN'T AND I CRIED AND CRIED AND CRIED... And you get the story, and you get why I want it so badly as well! Yeah... I don't know how I'll survive until November. *bawls* Ugh.

What have you read by Richelle Mead? GO VAMPIRE ACADEMY!

Review: None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio

None of the Above, by I.W. Gregorio
Publication: April 7, 2015, by Balzer + Bray
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, LGBTIQ, Contemporary
Pages: 352
Format: Hardcover
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 

A groundbreaking story about a teenage girl who discovers she was born intersex... and what happens when her secret is revealed to the entire school. Incredibly compelling and sensitively told, None of the Above is a thought-provoking novel that explores what it means to be a boy, a girl, or something in between.
What if everything you knew about yourself changed in an instant?
When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She's a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she's madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she's decided that she's ready to take things to the next level with him.
But Kristin's first time isn't the perfect moment she's planned—something is very wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals the truth: Kristin is intersex, which means that though she outwardly looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy "parts."
Dealing with her body is difficult enough, but when her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, Kristin's entire identity is thrown into question. As her world unravels, can she come to terms with her new self?

My Thoughts: 

2015 is actually shaping up to be the year that everyone has been waiting for—the year of diverse YA novels that are released by the greatest debut authors to have ever hit the planet. And holy moly macaroni (does that cheesy phrase still work out for people?) did I.W. Gregorio shape up to that definition. Her newest that was just released 2 months ago, None of the Above, was heart-pounding and such an unique interpretation to the loosely used definition of "intersex." I adored it, and NEED more. A struggle for the need, and I bet that y'all must feel the same way. 

I really really really really really really like this book! *thinks about 2015's trends* Don't you guys want to feel the same? It's a very rare situation where I actually find a LGBTQ novel that's so different than the rest, and this is the case. Gregorio proves that Kristin Lattimer is a protagonist who feels that she's not different than the usual at all, and her friendships with others depend on them realizing this. She's a senior and just realizes that she was born intersex, what's she got to do? Other people really need to build respect for this concept, especially since it's not her decision or fault at all. It's fate and luck that put her in this situation.

"She still had her hand in knocking position but her mouth gaped open like a fish's. I turned away from the shock in her dark-brown eyes. 'Never mind, Coach. I'll come back later.' She always was one of our best sprinters. Pain was my friend, my ass."

This shockingly has one of the most easiest summaries to actually explain, because it's one of those "finding yourself" developments that only takes and needs time to build. In this case, it's obviously Kristin's journey, and she discovers that she's intersex after her first time hurt a little too much after spending time with her boyfriend, Samuel. Kristin discovers that she's intersex, where she has the physical outlook of a female, but has hidden boy organs. What happens when the whole world takes her diagnosis by storm and sees her as a completely different person when Kristin just wants to fit in?

Young Matt Damon is as reckless as Gregorio's Samuel. Teehee.

Life is a fucking hellhole for people in Kristin's situation. As Gregorio actually met and interacted with a young girl who was similarly stuck at the same spot as Kristin, readers are actually able to tell what it's like to be in the shoes of a young teenager never knowing that she's different from everyone else when it all seemed possibly okay. And peer pressure is huge, too. Fitting in as well. It's not Kristin's fault for wanting everything to be the same as it was 24 hours before her diagnosis. Teenagers these days are all about fitting in and having the right "reputation," and Gregorio nailed the research and human instinct added into the character's perspective. Who can possibly blame her for doing the things she did? For going to a bar and making out with a guy who can make her feel like a pure woman when she knows she's not? Life. 

Continuously and continuously I find myself sitting around and feeling guilt as well as sympathy for a character. It's rare too, though. This book was the perfect new experience for me where I was able to go beyond my surroundings and the usual contemporary climaxes and plots that my library surrounds me with. Who wouldn't want to be living in the world of a young lost girl, who doesn't even have a mother to help her out with? The fear of cancer is disintegrated, but I bet that Kristin rather would have wanted to live with the risk inside of her, instead of everything that life all of the sudden threw on her. It's like barf, really. You don't want it coming but you'll have to deal with it to get better. Sorry for the gory description that I might've set in your mind for the rest of the night. 

Why do you want to be different? Why don't you want to be yourself? Those are the questions that Gregorio must've placed hand in hand with the readers' thoughts and I bet that this whole view on being different relates to the lives of many people. Cheers to feels and abilities to understand what Kristin's going through. CHEERS TO GORGEOUS 2015 DEBUTS.

"But more importantly, perhaps, it doesn't make clear that the opposite is also true: reality shapes perception as well. Sometimes the change is a slow, a day-by-day evolution.' She paused and met my gaze. 'Or, as you know, sometimes perception can change in an instant."

I BELIEVE IN THIS, OHMYGOD.

This storyline sure hadn't disappointed my passion for reading this gorgeous read. From start to finish, it seemed like such a process that I couldn't forget. If I could list the changes of character that Kristin inhabited, I'd make a lengthy list. At the same time, it was a quick read that you just wanted to devour slowly since it seemed to push you in that direction. Everything about it was SO brilliant, and the amount of research and experience that the author has is so abstract and it shows. A regular person wouldn't be able to retell a story like this in such a matter like Gregorio did. She's a doctor-turned-author, which is what I'd want to be!

I believe that this novel had a stand or two of the most awesomest things possible in a contemporary novel that every single person can grab and relate to. Whether it's the romance that longs to be mended together again, or the struggle of finding yourself, Gregorio speaks from her heart and I regret not going to grab myself a physical copy at BEA this year. (TIME, TIME, TIME RUINS EVERYTHING.) Yet again, I'd like to purchase myself a copy since everyone needs to throw their wallets in a pile for this book, really. Are you a lover or none of the above?

What are some other YA intersex novels out there? I've never heard of one, to be honest. 

Review: The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand

The Last Time We Say Goodbye, by Cynthia Hand
Publication: February 10, 2015, by HarperTeen
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Suicide
Pages: 400
Format: Hardcover
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 

The last time Lex was happy, it was before. When she had a family that was whole. A boyfriend she loved. Friends who didn't look at her like she might break down at any moment.
Now she's just the girl whose brother killed himself. And it feels like that's all she'll ever be.
As Lex starts to put her life back together, she tries to block out what happened the night Tyler died. But there's a secret she hasn't told anyone-a text Tyler sent, that could have changed everything.
Lex's brother is gone. But Lex is about to discover that a ghost doesn't have to be real to keep you from moving on.

My Thoughts: 

Cynthia Hand is one of those authors who please their readers every single fucking time. Like you feel to give her an award that praises her goodness. It seems like she writes her books in a snap and she does it all for making her readers proud and feel that they're obsessed with her books. The Last Time We Say Goodbye was a book that I longed for ever since the Unearthly trilogy ended, and I would've died if an ARC got sent to me early. I've waited a while to go for it, I must admit.

I'm so proud of the final outcome. Have you ever read a book where you're just so obsessed that you prefer to read it slowly and have all of the gorgeous moments and parts sticking on your skin for the rest of your life? I'm sure you have, and this was it for me. From the pleasing cover to the last page, I was impressed with everything, every single word and letter. I'm not trying to sound creepy at all, by the way. Just saying.

"Steven had his hands at the small of my back, his face in the crook of my shoulder, his breath heating my skin, and I had this moment of sudden euphoria. We're right together, I thought. We fit. It felt like Euler's equation."

Cynthia gets the whole message, perfectly.

Readers are stuck in the perspective of Lex, who once loved her life. After her younger brother commits suicide, everything falls apart and she has no idea onto why everything happened. She tries to block everything out, but discovers that it's kind of her fault, anyway. A text that Tyler sent the night he died may could have saved him, and the ghost of her past still haunts her every single day, thinking about what could've happened in her sake. 

Because Hand notes in her note that this is actually based off her life story. (NO. I'M NOT CAUSING A RUMOUR—IT ISN'T EXACTLY HER STORY.) She's been through this—she had to do the research, she had to understand the story and get what the characters were going through. She once was in Lex's situation, and that absolutely sucks. The best thing here is that it seemed so real and it took the perfect time range and amount of love was put into it. Agh.

You see, I finished reading this more than a week ago, but its remnants still long in my mind. All of the positives and the impact that it left on readers are stuck with me and I just can't forget about this special story. I bet that so many teenagers are able to relate to this story, whether it hit them or a family member or a friend. I don't even know of a story like this personally, but the feelings were all over the place, and although I hadn't cried, since there was no need to, I smiled, laughed and felt gloomy all throughout. For me, that's a 100% perfect rating and more than that. Love is special that way, whether it's for a book or a person.

"In my experience, love doesn't bring happiness and stability. But believing in love can cause a substantial amount of harm.' Like with my parents. Like with my brother."

Thank God she went for the help.

Most bookish protagonists seem to go for the easy way around their tough situations. Contemporaries like this usually deal with tough situations, like pregnancy, loss, friendships and relationships. This had all of those issues (except for pregnancy), and the characters usually don't give a damn and try to stay independent and solve their shit on their own. I found Lex superbly likeable because she realized that she was having a tough time and wanted to get help. She went to see a therapist and decided to write in her journal, which actually was part of the book's stylistic writing and format. Woot. Yay. (And I love journal entries, because readers can tell that there's something else in between the lines than what's written physically!)

From beginning to end, as I mentioned previously, I was absolutely intrigued. The story had so much depth in it and I wanted to squeeze myself into the pages of the book and give Lex a hug. There were family issues, such as divorce, and I couldn't help but wonder, "What else will happen to her?" since it was completely messed up most of the time. But it wasn't exaggerated or anything that you're possibly thinking. The story was real, inclusive to people who have different issues, and it was so unbelievably real. Who'd think that a sticky note would go such a far way?

What I adore (again for the millionth time) about Hand's writing is that she doesn't go super far with the romance. Steven and Lex were... adorable, but the main point of the story wasn't focused on that whatsoever. It was the mutual friendships that Lex had with childhood friends who decided to show up and help her at this rough point of her life. And it wasn't about ghosts, either. That was just a part of the horrifying points of Lex's life. Don't expect ghosts to be real, by the way. (It's not a paranormal read at all, unlike the Unearthly trilogy!) This novel twisted me, threw me around, and helped me realize the true meaning of the bad times in life, to wait for the good. Here, I hand you, a quick read if you'd like it to be.

What are your favourite suicide-related novels? 

Stacking the Shelves #45: June 21

This Week's Headlines:

Happy Father's Day, wonderful dads, grandfathers, uncles, brothers, I don't know! You are amazing individuals and inspirations to so many young people, and we all praise you! 

So... GUESS WHAT? I'm finally, finally done my exams! Last weekend I felt like I was going to pass out when hearing about that horrifying word, but I've made it through: Religion, Science and English. WOW. I'm a graduate of Grade Nine and survived my first year of high school! (I'm not exactly sure how... but I did.) Sitting in a room with thirty kids who all may have studied more (or less) than you is pretty intimidating, and I'm so glad to say that I'M DONE. One more day of school for me on Wednesday to discover my marks and IT'S SUMMER. But I'm already calling it summer at the moment, to be honest.

It's been a wonderful week weather-wise as well. I love how the temperature isn't so crazily humid that my eye sockets feel like burning up—it's the perfect, windy weather in the mid 20s. And then today is our first muggy day. I'll let you know how that went.

I JUST SAW JURASSIC WORLD AND I LOVED IT. Usually dinosaur premises kind of bore me and seem unrealistic, but CHRIS PRATT MADE EVERYTHING WONDERFUL. It's a great adaptation that seemed to have had so much work put into it, and was a true success! (4/5 stars, definitely.)

How was your week? Are you officially on summer break now? What are you planning on doing if you're a student?

My Book Haul:

WOOOT! It's SO gorgeous.

A million thank-yous to St. Martin's Press for a finished copy of Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout! It has one of the most unique premises for contemporary, AND WHO DOESN'T LIKE K-POP? LIKE HONESTLY?!

Post office —> P.S.? Get it? Hah. Hah.

I finally have a copy of the stunning P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han? I read the first one and absolutely adored it—Jenny's books are simple comfort reads!

Posts You May Have Missed:

• 99 Days by Katie Cotungo Review
• A Sense of the Infinite by Hilary T. Smith Review
• Rogue by Julie Kagawa Review
• In the Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken Review
• Zlata's Diary by Zlata Filipović Review
• Last Year's Mistake by Gina Ciocca ARC Review
• BEA 2015 Recap: My Overall Experience and Thoughts

How are you? How was your week? Seen any good movies? What are your newest additions?

99 Days by Katie Cotungo Review

99 Days, by Katie Cotungo
Publication: April 21, 2015, by Balzer + Bray
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 384
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Rating: 

Day 1: Julia Donnelly eggs my house my first night back in Star Lake, and that’s how I know everyone still remembers everything—how I destroyed my relationship with Patrick the night everything happened with his brother, Gabe. How I wrecked their whole family. Now I’m serving out my summer like a jail sentence: Just ninety-nine days till I can leave for college, and be done.
Day 4: A nasty note on my windshield makes it clear Julia isn’t finished. I’m expecting a fight when someone taps me on the shoulder, but it’s just Gabe, home from college and actually happy to see me. “For what it’s worth, Molly Barlow,” he says, “I’m really glad you’re back.”
Day 12: Gabe got me to come to this party, and I’m actually having fun. I think he’s about to kiss me—and that’s when I see Patrick. My Patrick, who’s supposed to be clear across the country. My Patrick, who’s never going to forgive me.

My Thoughts:

Bittersweet reads are my ultimate favourites. The ones that (HarperTeen usually publish) make me giggle with their oh-so-gorgeous covers? Yeah, those, I bet you know which I'm talking about! 99 Days is one of them, and it's probably my most anticipated read of 2015. Trust me, you can check my past lists—it's the real deal. After reading, I'm SO glad that I've devoured it at the right moment, at the right time. 

Katie Cotungo's books have always felt like stars that have fallen from the sky. You know, they're those rare things that you feel allowed to proclaim as "contemporary-romance," but yet again, they're not just classified as a specific genre—I see so much depth and specialty in her books that I can't ever forget them. This is just as good as How to Love. And instead of her teaching teenagers how to love in this book, she shows readers that it's difficult to love and to fall in love. You have to enjoy yourself and life to get through it all. 

"Kissing Gabe stokes a fire I didn't know I had in me; when I wake up the next morning it feels like everything's spilling open all of a sudden, like maybe this summer holds a silver of possibility in its pocket after all." (Hardcover, page 90)

Mmmm hmm... This goes for you, Molly.

It's been a while since I've read a romance that deals with a love-triangle dealt between a girl and two brothers. Actually, I can't even think of one at the top of my head. If this actually ends up being my first one, I must say that it was a total success. Instead of having that stupid social-group rivalry that happens in a high school setting, this is the real stuff, that summer read about seniors who are about to head into college. They don't want to fall in love since they believe that it's just not possible—long-distance relationships don't even work out in fiction—but it just happens because fate puts it in that way. Think of Sarah Dessen's books, but look beyond the picture, into a world where not everything comes from tragedy and mending a tragic past. This wasn't tragic whatsoever.

Molly Barlow is our sassy protagonist who has just graduated from an all-girls boarding school in Arizona, which she ran away to after her mom published a novel and the article hit People magazine. This book was all about the past that she had with the Donnelly boys, Gabe and Patrick. Now she's back for the summer, before she heads to college in Boston. No one in the Donnelly family wants to speak to Molly except for Gabe, but Patrick, her once-lover, still longs between the lines and she struggles to figure who she wants and for the right reason.

I LOVE THIS COVER SO MUCH. Polaroid cameras weren't a huge thing in this book, though... which kind of gets me second-guessing why the cover was meant to look like this, but whatever, it's so eye-worthy. I stare at it, and I swear I see it shimmering with its proper-posh sparkle. The writing has its own sparkles too, by the way, in case you were wondering. Cotungo throws me into the future of what love can be like for me, or even for anyone I know—where Molly and the Donnelly boys just seem to know how to do it right.

"I'd always known how Patrick's aloofness sometimes played to the outside world. It didn't look that way to me, though—after all, Patrick was my person, my other half. I never felt stuck or cut off or like there was other stuff I'd rather be doing, never felt like there was anyplace else I'd rather be. At least, not until the moment it did." (Hardcover, page 162-163)

Everything—every single moment while reading was spent with some kind of emotion to me. I hardly understand what the negativity that other individuals see is, but I'd rather keep those thoughts to myself since it's just not humanly possible to hate on this book. Yes, it did have a few issues, but it's all a summery read that left me feeling like I was in Patrick's backyard. I drifted into another world, their world, their lives, and never looked back until Cotungo's writing provoked my heart's skips. Everything, all of her writing comes from some literal genius, and it was that fluffy read that'll take me a while to forget about, if ever. When beginning it, I just sat there, reading for the entire sitting.

Harry's me while reading. Har dee har har. 

I want to have my own 99 days of summer, of awesome things happening, of completing bucket lists and having fun. The whole story left me feeling like I wanted to get up, head outside, scream my lungs out of joy and sit on the steps with a boy and lemonade. A girl can only dream, right? Molly had that chance, she could've made everything right. Her decisions were questionable and I kept face-palming myself (and the book) after wondering why she did the things she did. I get that her life is full of angst, stress and depression after her childish mistakes back in the past. She was adopted, her mother was a total bitch for writing a book about her fucking past with the boys around the corner, and she was stupid for even telling her mother everything in the end. After that People magazine incident, I would've grabbed the bags like she did and leave, never coming back. The family incident in this novel was horrible, but I guess that this was the point. Even take a look at the Donnellys—Connie was a horrible mother as well. 

I mean, I did have trouble seeing why Molly did what she did, mostly in the middle parts of the book. She was having too much fun to realize what the hell she was getting herself into? Then afterwards, readers find her bawling her eyes out because she doesn't have any friends. I guess things happen for a reason, no? 

Some would argue that the love triangle doesn't work for this occurrence and in Molly's life, but I'm staying on the positive side of this. Cotungo made something unpredictable and just about impossible possible. I had hope for one of the relationships to work out, (it doesn't matter which, but Patrick had grown to be my favourite) and the author just threw it all back at us in that crazy ending that came like a strike of lightening. Why didn't she have any regrets? 

From my viewpoint, this is what I call a romance novel that works. I imagine some authors turning this into an absolute catastrophe, but Katie is a master at these books, and i just can't wait to see what else she has in store for us. If you're a reader who doesn't get bothered by stupid decision-making protagonists and family issues, then you'll definitely be heading to your library and bookstore for a copy right away since you'll already read the review to here... Why am I even writing anymore? You've already gone to get a copy, I bet it. And if you're still here... what the heck?! Go live your own 99 days. 

OMG. Are there any other brother-brother-girl relationships that work in YA lit? Let me know, you obsessive romantics!

A Sense of the Infinite by Hilary T. Smith Review

A Sense of the Infinite, by Hilary T. Smith
Publication: May 19, 2015, by Katherine Tegen Books
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary
Pages: 400
Format: Hardcover
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 

It's senior year of high school, and Annabeth is ready—ready for everything she and her best friend, Noe, have been planning and dreaming. But there are some things Annabeth isn't prepared for, like the constant presence of Noe's new boyfriend. Like how her relationship with her mom is wearing and fraying. And like the way the secret she's been keeping hidden deep inside her for years has started clawing at her insides, making it hard to eat or even breathe.
But most especially, she isn't prepared to lose Noe.
For years, Noe has anchored Annabeth and set their joint path. Now Noe is drifting in another direction, making new plans and dreams that don't involve Annabeth. Without Noe's constant companionship, Annabeth's world begins to crumble. But as a chain of events pulls Annabeth further and further away from Noe, she finds herself closer and closer to discovering who she's really meant to be—with her best friend or without.

My Thoughts: 

What's the best and most powerful thing in the world? L-O-V-E! And what does love have to do with? Friendship. Smith's A Sense of the Infinite is truly one of the most meaningful sisterhood stories that have touched my heart since Ann Brashares' The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Except in this case, the story deals with a much broader subject matter, and I found myself loving it much more than a typical contemporary.

To be honest, this story all captivated me after I saw the cover, and I immediately knew that this would be that perfect summer read that will get me thinking about life and what really happens to you or to a young teenager when her life is turned upside-down, and she has nobody to talk to and seek advice with. This is your answer. I adored this inside and out, though seeing it as a quick, light read probably made me enjoy it even more without having to get too much into it—which I did. I felt all of the emotions that Annabeth feels constantly, and I wanted to be there by her side. She wasn't just a character, she was a young girl stuck in the worst possible situation for her time, and if I told you, it sure would be a spoiler.

"I was not a girl in a TV show. I'd made my decision in the seconds it took me to throw up in a garbage can. There was no going back and forth. No waiting for the decision to appear like a package in the mail. It just landed there, thud. It was strange to be so certain. You were supposed to agonize. What did it mean that I wasn't agonizing?" (Hardcover, page 149)

I'm Taylor Lautner, and Annabeth's Bella.

Noe and Annabeth have been best friends since freshman year when they met in the best possible way. It's senior year, and things are actually beginning to fall apart in their friendship. Annabeth is afraid of growing apart from the girl who knows and understands her completely, but others argue and believe that she's too attached to her best friend. What happens when the worst possible scenario strikes your life, and you've got no one to talk about it with? Isn't that the time when you need your best friend?

It certainly is. It most positively absolutely is. Family also is a huge issue discovered by Smith's writing, especially the relationship between Annabeth and her mother. After Annabeth discovers what's happening in her life, she doesn't have Noe, she doesn't have a boyfriend, or any other close friends. She seeks out to her cousin, who thankfully helps her (Ava rules) but realizes that she needs to tell her mother. Imagine the kind of lie that would explode if she hadn't told her at all? The book would've turned into a complete glitch of Annabeth having to deal with her life problem, and trying to gain a better relationship with her mother. Girl power, yes.

What most struck me to the heart was the fact that Annabeth was an independent young girl who doesn't need a man by her side. I bet that 95% of the books that young adults read today are all incorporated with some romance. Sure, I adore the feeling of having a new fictional boyfriend in my eyes, but I do believe in change and diversity in authors' writing, and this surely is the case. We obviously did have a reencounter of some hook-up at the start of the novel between Annabeth and... Oliver. This led to the probably, evidently, but she didn't need him to rely on and him to solve all of the problems and difficulties in her life. (In fact, he was a total loser. But, I won't get into that really since it'll spoil the whole novel.) So romance? Uncheck, but for a total good reason.

"Annabeth, honey, life keeps on changing. You don't get one chance at friendship, or one chance at love. Things die. Things grow. It's hard to see that when you've only been around for seventeen years, and you've only ever had one of everything, but it's true." 

That quote will be my life motto from this very moment, just saying. And all of Smith's writing is completely inspirational. This woman has a way with her words—she knows how to change readers' lives and give them a point of view in life that they've never read about before. Everything about the beginning to the end was just spectacular, and I truly enjoy reading when I don't know I actually am, instead I'm just watching the characters interact and deal with their issues just like that. Books like this are rare, but this one is a keeper.

THE BOOK IS A TRUE KEEPER.

As I mentioned above, Annabeth is independently perfect. The decisions she made were exactly what I was hoping she'd do, and there were no signs of her being an idiot at any time. So many young people can probably relate to her and her story, and she's an example of a teenager who broke free of the typicalness that people expect of them. She can definitely compare to some of the best protagonists that I've read about in years, and that's something remarkable. And her without Noe? I'd say it's a total better match than with, although their relationship was something completely understandable at the same time. 

Smith has readers thinking about the importance of friendship and family all throughout her latest novel, from the first page to the last. All in all, this left me with teary eyes and sudden heart bursts when something good or crazy would occur. Everything about it made sense to give it a pure 5 star rating, since it actually gave me a sense of the infinite little by little until it actually struck me into its own world that I've never been through before.

What's the latest friendship oh-so-cutesy contemporary book you've read?

Rogue by Julie Kagawa Review

Rogue (Talon #2), by Julie Kagawa
Publication: April 28, 2015, by Harlequin Teen
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Dragons, Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 348
Format: Hardcover
Source: Borrowed
Rating: ½

Ember Hill left the dragon organization Talon to take her chances with rebel dragon Cobalt and his crew of rogues. But Ember can't forget the sacrifice made for her by the human boy who could have killed her—Garret Xavier Sebastian, a soldier of the dragonslaying Order of St. George, the boy who saved her from a Talon assassin, knowing that by doing so, he'd signed his own death warrant. 
Determined to save Garret from execution, Ember must convince Cobalt to help her break into the Order's headquarters. With assassins after them and Ember's own brother helping Talon with the hunt, the rogues find an unexpected ally in Garret and a new perspective on the underground battle between Talon and St. George. 
A reckoning is brewing and the secrets hidden by both sides are shocking and deadly. Soon Ember must decide: Should she retreat to fight another day…or start an all-out war?

My Thoughts: 

Talon was the last book I read in 2014 and one of the best actually. Never in a million years had I expected such a heart-racing, full of dragons read to struck me with such integrity and realism in a contemporary world. I hadn't had the best experience with Kagawa's other books, and this series seemed to be "it" for me. I still agree with that statement, though this sequel was rather disappointing compared to the first, where I couldn't sleep after reading it late into the night. This? A little boring at times. Huh.

Kagawa actually delivered a gift to readers—a surprise, in the most sense, where we all expected action, heartbreak and all, but instead, it was more bland at times, topped off with a juicy, gorgeous cover to get the facts straight. Not that I died while reading about Garrett having to be killed... it's just that I lost the hope of getting a five-star read next, and this book kind of threw me off into a reading slump built with anger and rage. WHY DID THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN TO ME?!

“The hardest thing about waiting to die is being torn between wanting more time and wishing they would just get it over with already. You can’t sleep, of course. you can’t focus on anything else. Your mind keeps tormenting you with questions and memories and what-ifs, until you wish they’d just do the favor and knock you senseless until it was time."

The facts are now straight and cleared up, the storyline is thrown into a puddle of rebellion with readers expecting the unexpected, and Ember is going mad. But who can blame the poor soul, who just had to be a dragon stuck in a contemporary-romance novel? Why did the St. George have to spy on her and her brother, what about the rogues at the time? These are the rhetorical questions that spied on the readers after we all finished (and adored) Talon. And this whole macho storyline is added into the sequel, where it simply felt like it add to have been added so everything can be stretched out. A book being stretched out, you ask? Absolutely, positively, I reply. Ember's honestly under so much pressure that I wonder how she is able to handle everything, including the "death" of her boyfriend and fellow human, Garrett. And then there's the confusion between who actually loves her, Garrett or Riley. UGHH she's one busy chick. And did I mention that she's a Rogue, and Talon is after her, alongside Dante?

GUILT, PEOPLE. GUILT! SYMPATHY! If one does not feel these strong emotions while reading, then you're lost in a different atmosphere, I must say. The feelings, the emotions were real, and I felt myself panicking like it was my best friend stuck in this situation. (Not that I would know what it feels like to fly or seek revenge on a controlling business.)  This is what classified the novel as contemporary-romance. One does not simply hate Julie Kagawa's romance.

WHY DO I LOVE THE ROMANCE? No, it's not because of the outrageous love triangle that's taking over my life (no, no, it's DEFINITELY not about that), but because of the fact that there's loss and the struggle between having to live with a relationship that just doesn't seem to work out. Human + dragon = NO, just so you get the equation and picture. I guess you'll have to choose your own Team or such, but I'm letting you know that Garrett's my love and I won't ever change this. HE FUCKING TOOK A RISK FOR EMBER, DIED FOR HER SO THAT SHE COULD BE SAFE. He easily could've took the step and allied with St. George again, reunite with his bastard-of-a-friend. Yet again, Ember's always his choice. *cries for the sixtieth time*

For now, you may be suspecting that all I'm speaking of are the positives. Yes, they are for now. Though... this just seemed too rushed and planned out. The story hadn't flowed smoothly and easily like caramel syrup being laid on a sundae. It went the opposite, like chunks of mangoes. Ember does this. Now she's going to do this. Garrett here. Happiness. Robotic plots aren't my type of thing, just saying! WHERE'S THE PASSION? WHERE'S MY SUGARY STRAWBERRY SYRUP? *calls McDonalds* Brace yourself for boredom, dragons of mine.

Ember was kick-ass... as usual. There's no doubt about that. Julie's protagonists always tend to share the spotlight alongside the side characters (which shows that she always put the same amount of depth into her characters for equality), and this was her book to shine. Screw Talon, screw my brother's idiotic choices. LET ME BE WHO'S INSIDE OF ME, THE REAL ME. That's always a fantastic reason to shine, and I find that fantasies usually have that special aspect unlike others. (Celaena Sardothien, woo!)

Here's a final thought: Where are the answers? I truly wish that we discovered more about Talon, Riley's past as well as the kingdom from where Ember + Dante came from, or at least their past lives. This mostly stayed on the now look of things, so we need better world development!

Minus the lack of cherry syrup added into the plot and world development, this was pretty great. Kagawa's characters and romance never fails to impress, and again, I'm stuck on the edge, trying to keep my senses and thoughts together for the next book! Now when I think about it, a large series doesn't seem so horrible, as long as the science and awesomeness is put into it, like I saw in the first book. I can't get enough, in other words!

What are your favourite dragon reads? I NEED RECOMMENDATIONS!