Disliked


Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros [Book Review]

Summary

“Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Yarros

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.”

-From Amazon.com

Review

So this review is honestly going to be a bit of a hot take. I’ll be up front and say that I really didn’t enjoy this book. With all the hype around it and then all the positive things I had seen about it, I had high expectations. I even got this for myself as a birthday gift and honestly….I regret it. Please keep in mind these are my personal opinions.

 

More than half the book didn’t really go anywhere.

Honestly I felt like a lot of the book didn’t really go anywhere. It was just about Violet training and having this weird verbal sparring match with Xaden and this odd sexual tension that was constantly a will they/won’t they feeling. I was waiting for something to actually happen and then that was thrown at you at the very end like…what? I mean I don’t mind books set in academies or something, but I just felt this kept rehashing the same thing over and over again in the book.

I felt the story could have progressed at a much faster pace and cut down on some of the pages. There was plenty in this book, in my opinion, that I felt did not add to the story at all. It was just there to read.

 

Um…dragons….where you at?

Considering the academy had dragons, I didn’t really feel you got to connect with the dragons. They are a big part of the academy where Violet was and I just didn’t feel that they were a major part of the story. I didn’t get to really imagine the dragons or connect with them. A lot of the dragon interactions, for the most part, was through their mental communications so you kind of had this weird disconnect so I wasn’t able to imagine them or really realize they were dragons. Kind of a let down as I love dragons.

via GIPHY

What spice are you even talking about?

Now I know that this is technically a YA book so spice can only be so much (although that is a whole other conversation right there), I felt all the spice in this book was pretty lame. Admittedly I have read a lot of spice books so this didn’t feel like spice. For a new spice reader, this would have possibly been a decent bit. But for what people were saying with “Oh Xaden *bats eye lashes*” I honestly didn’t see it. Xaden annoyed the heck out of me for the most part and he wouldn’t really be ranked in like my top 50 of bookish boyfriends. I’d give this like a 2/5 on the spice scale.

 

Violet – weakling or dragoness in disguise??

If you’ve been here for a hot second you know I love a strong MC, especially when they’re a female. But Violet just wasn’t it. Sure she progressed from this little weak girl but I just felt there was a lot of babying her and even through her little journey to find herself she didn’t come as far as I would have though. I just didn’t connect with her at all, her character progression was a little lacking and I just felt that with the story and the world, what she became just wasn’t it. Admittedly she is against Xaden who is this arrogant thing with a pretty large ego, but I just still wasn’t feeling it.

 

A little inconsistent and some holes in the story.

I did feel the story was missing things. Like things touches on and missed, things suddenly happening with little explanation, bits of the story being very rushed. It felt some areas that didn’t need as much got more focus than others that needed more attention given.

 

However, ultimately, an enjoyable single read.

With all that criticism above, it is still worth a peek if you have time maybe. This is the kind of the book that I would say is a book to put on the back burner and maybe read when you are in a reading slump or don’t have anything else. I doubt I will be reading it again which kind of says a lot to me. I regret buying it but I don’t fully regret reading it. It had so much potential with the story and the idea and that is why I was interested. But I just felt, sadly, it underdelivered with all the hype.

 

I’d give this a 2.75/5 star rating.

What are your thoughts on this book? Do you agree? Do you feel that it was slightly overhyped?

Happy Reading!


In The Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende

 Summary

“During the biggest Brooklyn snowstorm in living memory, Richard Bowmaster, a lonely university professor in his sixties, hits the car of Evelyn Ortega, a young undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, and what at first seems an inconvenience takes a more serious turn when Evelyn comes to his house, seeking help. At a loss, the professor asks his tenant, Lucia Maraz, a fellow academic from Chile, for her advice.

As these three lives intertwine, each will discover truths about how they have been shaped by the tragedies they witnessed, and Richard and Lucia will find unexpected, long overdue love. Allende returns here to themes that have propelled some of her finest work: political injustice, the art of survival, and the essential nature of—and our need for—love.”

-From Amazon.com

Review

This was a book and an author that I have heard quite a lot about. I feel like I hear this name super often and people give such high praises. I’ve never read another book by Allende so I have zero comparison of this book to her more famous book The House of the Spirits. But for this book, honestly, I was kind of disappointed….

Lower Quality Writing?

I just felt like the writing was a little sub par. I will be transparent and say I was also read The Satanic Versus by Salman Rushdie at the same time which has very elite writing, so maybe my brain was confuddled, but, others who were reading this as part of my book club felt similar. The writing and story just felt, at a more in the weeds level, kind of below the quality that I was writing. The sentences and writing style was simple at the story just felt a little disjointed and all over the place.

Interesting Story with Potential

The story itself was quite interesting through. You had various stories going on with overlap and it wasn’t until the end that it all came together. You got to see characters change and see how they grew based on their previous life experiences. And the central event that held them all together through the story was interesting to see how it impacted the characters. So the story had such potential and overall as a read was certainly interesting.

But there was just parts of the story that felt a little strange or rushed. Like some of the relationship development felt almost comical, and not in a good way. The fact there was all this stuff going on in the story, in the middle of a huge snow storm…I don’t know it had this kind of Planes, Trains and Automobile kind of feeling to it. I can’t put my finger on exactly what I didn’t love as it wasn’t anything glaring.

A Representation of Latin American Struggles

I did love reading the stories from some of the characters past from Latin America. Hearing about Evelyn and what she had gone through really pulled at my heart. Just imagining someone going through what she went through and persevering and just being as strong as she was was beautiful. I did absolutely love the inclusion of that and how it was woven into the story and also kind of an integral part of the book. Also the little hits of magic realism, which while miniscule, did have a few moments.

Overall I think I would give this book 3 out of 5 teacups. It was definitely worth a read because of some of the characters personal stories but it definitely was not as good as I thought it was going to be due to all the hype, and I certainly wouldn’t buy it. This was a library book borrow for me.

If you have read this book, or other books by Allende, I’d love to hear your opinions because maybe this wasn’t her best piece of literature. I do want to give House of the Spirits a go when I can because I’ve heard a lot about that one too. And I’ll be very curious to hear from those in my book group (who have very diverse opinions) on what their thoughts were, and will be sure to update this post with some of their thoughts!

Happy Reading!

 

 

MyLibraryCardWoreOut is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This in no way affects my opinion of the book(s) included in this post. 


Damsel by Elana K. Arnold [Book Review] 5

Summary

“The rite has existed for as long as anyone can remember: When the king dies, his son the prince must venture out into the gray lands, slay a fierce dragon, and rescue a damsel to be his bride. This is the way things have always been.

When Ama wakes in the arms of Prince Emory, she knows none of this. She has no memory of what came before she was captured by the dragon or what horrors she faced in its lair. She knows only this handsome young man, the story he tells of her rescue, and her destiny of sitting on a throne beside him. It’s all like a dream, like something from a fairy tale.

As Ama follows Emory to the kingdom of Harding, however, she discovers that not all is as it seems. There is more to the legends of the dragons and the damsels than anyone knows, and the greatest threats may not be behind her, but around her, now, and closing in.”

-From Amazon.com

Review

So, I’m actually going to start my review of this book with the rating of it, because it may save you some time from even bothering to read this review and this book.

I give this book 2/5 teacups.

2 Teacups

Now we can get into why I thought the book was just so bad.

This book was definitely not YA!
This book is classified as YA Fantasy, but holy crap was it not. First off, there were some seriously messed up undertones of rape, sexual assault, the injury of animals and even some subtle bestiality undertones (with dragons, but that doesn’t matter). I honestly hated the fact that the Prince/King in the book was so controlling and kept making it seem like he saved this female constantly saying, “I saved you” over and over. Like shut up, we get it.

Then he comes into her room at night and pretty much almost rapes her. And she’s like “Oh, it’s okay, he’s going to be my husband, he saved me” which kind of gave me some Stockholm Syndrome vibes or something.

And then when they are talking about how to tame a dragon, I was like “WHAT THE F^*& IS GOING ON HERE?!” I had to read it a few times to make sure I read it right. Like, what the hell was the author thinking?!

The writing was so simple and…well, crappy.
For me, the writing was just so poor! It felt so jumpy, the style was too plain and I felt like this was some book that had been self-published. For a author who was a National Book Award Finalist, this book was so just nothing. For a younger YA read maybe, but due to the themes, this was not for younger YA at all, if any YA in general.

Feminist book? More like ‘women should know their place’ book.
For the ‘reviews’ on the cover talking about how this was a story of feminine power, I’d like to know what they were drinking! Until the last like….15 pages, nothing remotely feminist happened and then it was just like “here, take this, the end.” Honestly, I don’t even know what was going on with that ending. It was like there should have been so much more but the author just ended it.

Had potential but just delivered so poorly.
This was one of those books that the idea was fantastic and it could have been an amazing book! Like, it really had the potential for that, but because the author just did such a poor job in writing the story and developing it, it was just…so bad. I’m sorry. I don’t generally really dislike books but I do. When I finished it I was mixed, then I read other peoples interpretations of the book and reanalyzed my reading of it – I also did read it fast because I just had to get through it and be done. So, no, just no.

Only plus, has a gorgeous cover.
As you can see, the cover was my draw in. It caught my attention on the stand which is why I grabbed it and I also thought, from the summary, it would be good. But, sadly the story disappointed. However, the cover is really quite beautiful. So that’s one of the only reasons I gave it a 2 star and not 1 (also because I rarely give 1, but this came really close).

Overall, this is a miss.
Honestly, I don’t generally say to avoid books, but this one is one to just…not. I don’t know how these people who wrote the reviews inside the book actually enjoyed it as it was so poor…I feel like I wasted my time reading it, I’m sorry to say. And I really hate when that happens.

Happy Reading (other books)!


The Brothers Grimsby (2016)

Starring

Sacha Baron Cohen – Nobby
Rebel Wilson – Dawn Grobham
Mark Strong – Sebastian

The Brothers GimsbySummary

Nobby (Sacha Baron Cohen), a sweet but dimwitted English football hooligan, has everything a man from the poor fishing town of Grimsby could want, including nine children and the most attractive girlfriend in the northeast of England (Rebel Wilson). There’s only one thing missing: his little brother, Sebastian (Mark Strong), who Nobby has spent 28 years searching for after they were separated as kids. Nobby sets off to reunite with Sebastian, unaware that not only is his brother MI6’s deadliest assassin, but he’s just uncovered plans for an imminent global terrorist attack. On the run and wrongfully accused, Sebastian realizes that if he is going to save the world, he will need the help of its biggest idiot.

– From Amazon.com

Review

In all honesty, I really disliked this movie for only one reason.

It was absolutely way too inappropriate for what it was. There were bad words flying left right and center, there was sex up the wazoo, there was strange stuff with animals, there were disgusting references all over. I mean half of the gratuitous sexual stuff was completely unnecessary and brought the movie down big time.

I felt like it was a mixture with like Kingsman and some frat-boy kinda movie with a mixture of porn in there.

Like it was completely unnecessary. The movie could have been quite funny if NONE of that stuff was in there and if half of the stuff they used to make the movie funny was just plain rude.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a prude at all and I don’t mind some sexual content in movies as well as language, but this was light really really excessive. Like The Interview, but worse in my opinion.

I don’t really have much to say about this movie except it’s honestly a miss in my opinion and not something that I would recommend watching, unless that kind of really whacky stuff is something you’re into, then go for it.

But if it’s not, please just avoid this movie. And spend 2 hours doing something else or watching some other good movie.

If you’d like to purchase this movie, click here.

Other than that, don’t.

Happy viewing!

 


Patriarch Run by Benjamin Dancer

Patriarch Run by Benjamin DancerSummary

Nine years ago, Jack Erikson was deployed to China to protect the United States from a cyberattack. Now, suffering from a drug-induced amnesia, he is unable to recognize his own son. What Jack knows for sure is that an elite group of operators is determined to kill him.

What he does not yet remember is that he controls a cyber weapon powerful enough to return human civilization to the Stone Age. If Jack lives long enough to piece together his mission and his identity, he will be forced to choose between the fate of humankind and that of his own family.

From benjamindancer.com

Review

Unfortunately I really didn’t enjoy this book and due to time commitments I wasn’t able to finish the book. While this book does have a decent about of good reviews on Amazon, it really didn’t hook me and make me want to continue to read the book. Now let me make a disclaimer before I continue to review.

This is more of an adult novel and I understand that adult novels are not as fast paced as Young Adult novels, so in that aspect it was okay, but due to my personal time span that I can dedicate to a book to make a review based on authors requests, I need a book to catch my attention in a short-ish time span and help me get a good picture of what this book is.

I had a hard time figuring out just what was going on as it jumps around a lot between different characters and I struggled to figure out who was who and where they were and what was even going on.

The idea behind the entire book is definitely an interesting one, and based on the summary it really had me interested, but after starting the book, I had a hard time really getting into the book and find the motivation to finish reading it. I couldn’t find time to just sit down and read a large chunk so I struggled to get back into it every time I wanted to read it, and even when I did once find a period of time that I could read a chunk, I didn’t really GET into the reading like in other books where I could fly through it. I spent so much time understanding who’s point of view it was being written from that I stopped paying attention to the story and would have to go back. I did have a PDF version on my iPhone sent from the publisher so it was quite hard at times to figure out where a chapter ended to know that the voice would be changing to a different character, so it may be different if you purchase an actual copy.

But, it does have a lot of good reviews, as I said, on amazon so please don’t base your purchasing of this book just based off me. I’m sure many of the reviews were written by adults who find this as their kind of book. But as a young adult, this didn’t fit into my personal kind of reading category and I didn’t really enjoy it.

To purchase this book, click here.

Happy Reading!