Moving

I'm moving this blog ... again. Ahhhh I know, I know. Why do I keep doing this? Well, the first time was because I did not want to pay for my own server/domain anymore so I came to Blogger.

But Blogger has not been working very well for me. It does not update or post my posts half the time, and it has been very frustrating. It is part of the reason why I did not read very many books in 2016 -- I like blogging about what I read, and when I am unable to blog about it, I kind of lose some of my motivation to read.

So my new blog has moved to Wordpress here:

https://lostatseabookreviews.wordpress.com/

 

Same name, same blog. Moving all my posts over will take a while, but see you there!!

Edit: See, it is taking me forever just to post this little message. 

Scrappy Little Nobody

Author: Anna Kendrick
First Published: November 2016
Publisher: Touchstone
271 pages (hardcover)

Um, yes, I did disappear for all of 2016. I actually did not read a single book during 2016, which I am kind of embarrassed about. Standard "I was busy" excuses, etc. Moving on ...

I'm not a huge Anna Kendrick fan or anything like that originally. I liked the movies she's been in, and I've heard of her name, but that was really the extent of my knowledge on her. So, why did I pick up this autobiography/memoir style book by Anna Kendrick? Well, simply put, I was stuck in the Seattle airport for 8 hours (plane delays, ugh!) and out of everything in the bookstore there, this book seemed most interesting (that and the other book I picked up which I will also post about shortly after).

In this book, Anna Kendrick outlines her life with specific memorable moments, from her childhood, growing up and moving out on her own, boys and relationships, Hollywood life and how she maintains who she is as she becomes more successful in her career. She is brutally honest and is a really hilarious person, at least in writing. I mean, she isn't trying to be a comedian in this book, but she's just naturally a funny person.

My favourite chapters were her Hollywood chapters, especially when she talked about (or complained about, depending on your point of view!) clothes and fashion. I also liked the chapter she had dedicated to her time filming Twilight, and based on her personality, I thought for sure she'd make fun of the franchise, but actually she didn't. She didn't say anything bad about it at all, which I guess is smart. You don't make fun of the movies you were in, haha. But I really enjoyed the chapter because she talked about the perks and how great it was to be in a big movie franchise without needing all the pressure and responsibility of having a large character role. What I understood from it was that she was grateful for all her career opportunities regardless of what it was -- because let's face it, it's really easy to make fun of Twilight, hahaha.

There's also some photos here and there in the book, which I liked. I wished there were more photos. Also, they were in black and white and I wished it could have been in color, but then I guess the book would cost more :(

By the end of the book, I felt like Anna was a person I could really be friends with. Well, no, not really, because she sounds really outgoing and fun, and I'm introverted and boring, so she probably wouldn't really be my friend. Anyway, I ended up really enjoying this book and the only negative I can think of was that it was kind of short. I could have read more, but that might also be because I was stuck in the airport ...

My Rating: 5/5

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You

Author: Ally Carter
First Published: April 2006
Publisher: Orchard Books
Series: Gallagher Girls #1
309 pages (paperback)

Cammie Morgan is a student at The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. To the outside world, this is a school for rich young heiresses, elite and snobby young girls. But the truth is, the Academy is a school for training secrets agents -- spies.

Cammie's mother is the headmistress and her family (as most other girls' families at this school) have a long history with working for the CIA, MI6, Interpol, etc. Cammie's entire life has revolved around training to become a spy. She's not an ordinary girl, she lives no ordinary life, and she knows that.

During an exam in the field where she and her classmates must tail one of their teachers, Cammie is shocked to have a civilian boy named Josh who notices her and tries to talk to her. She's not supposed to be noticed when she's on a mission, she's supposed to totally blend in! At first, she and her classmates are freaked out that this and begin utilizing their secret agent knowledge to dig up all sorts of information about him. Is he working for someone sinister and trying to use Cammie in some way, especially since she is the headmistress' daughter??

But no ... actually, it turns out he is a very ordinary person. He talked to Cammie because he thought she was cute and wanted to ask her out! Cammie is suddenly in a completely new world -- boys? Dating? She has no idea what she's supposed to do, but decides to try out this new relationship anyway. Everything seems to be going well until she realizes she can never ever tell Josh that she's a secret agent in training, and not only because it, well, wouldn't make her a very good secret agent but because Josh and the rest of his friends hate the girls who attend the Gallagher Academy.

I randomly read book three years ago, when I didn't realize it was a part of a series. I don't really remember what happened in that book, but I think I liked it. Anyway, I recently acquired the entire series in paperback format so I'm going to read them all in order this time. I'm determined to read the entire series because I have re-fallen in love with Ally Carter's Heist Society series and wanted to read her other YA book series. To that end, I am a tad disappointed in this first book for the Gallagher Girls because I simply do not think it is anywhere as good as her Heist Society series. However, I liked it enough that I will definitely keep reading it (especially since I jumped the gun and  bought all 6 books already ...)

It's marketed more for young teenagers, and I thought the story was perfect for its age group (guess I'm a young teen at heart, hahaha). It was  a very solid story that was fun to read, and funny to boot. Whizzed through it pretty quick! This was a very cute story. I think cute is the right word for it. It is fairly short, it has a very simple story and concludes well. The characters all have their own personalities. Overall, I liked the story. The thing is, I'm not particularly impressed or in awe or whatever over any part of the story. Nothing really stuck out. At the same time, I don't have anything serious to complain about it either.

Well, this isn't really a complaint per se, but the book can be rather unbelievable. Not that I ever thought a secret spy school for teenagers was in the realm of reality, but sometimes it was really hard to believe these were 15 and 16 year old genius IQ girls who could take down a full grown man but can't handle socializing with a teenage boy. I think I aged them up in my mind. Anyway, have to go into this with an open mind and almost think of this story as a cartoon.

My Rating: 3/5

Crimson Bound

Author: Rosamund Hodge
First Published: May 2015
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
448 pages (ebook)


So, I misread and thought this was a re-telling of the classic Little Red Riding Hood story. Actually, what the synopsis-thingy says is that it is inspired. Not a re-telling! I must say though, it's pretty loosely inspired. Like, really really really loosely. Which was slightly disappointing only because nobody ever does retellings/inspirations based on LRRH (usually it's Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast or something). However, this is really a very nice novel on its own.

CRIMSON BOUND has a very unique world which I will attempt to explain but probably won't do it justice. The story centers on a teenaged girl named Rachelle, who is training to be a woodwife. A woodwife is a person who makes charms and simple things like that to ward against evil. In the world Rachelle lives in, there is this place called the Forest (with a capital F, mind you). It is both a physical location as well as a sort of evil force that is everywhere. For example, you could be standing in your living room and see glimpses of the Forest. Anyway, the Forest is home to all sorts of nasty creatures, woodspawn and forestborn and stuff, who go on a Great Hunt from time to time and basically hunt down humans for sport. The master of the Forest is called the Devourer, who has no real form (I guess the Devourer is the wolf from LRRH?)

When Rachelle was younger and being trained by her Aunt Leonie to become a woodwife, she accidentally strays from a forest path and becomes marked by the Forest. Once marked, a human has three days to kill another human. If you kill another human, you will live as a bloodbound (supernatural human) for a few years or so, then the Forest will claim you and you become a forestborn (non human, immortal Forest creature). If you don't kill someone in three days, well, then you die instead. Rachelle, in her desperate desire for survival, chooses to kill someone.

The current story takes place three years after Rachelle killed someone. She is a bloodbound, kept by the King. Usually humans want to kill bloodbounds but the King keeps some around because supernatural humans make excellent bodyguards and hey, when the time comes for them to be reclaimed by the Forest, the humans will kill the bloodbound then. In my opinion I am not sure that is the safest idea but whatever. Rachelle and another fellow bloodbound, Erec, work for the King, protecting humans from woodspawn and stuff.

Erec is completely resigned to his fate and actually looks forward to becoming an immortal being; if he has to work for a completely soulless evil creature, then so be it. Rachelle, on the other hand, is desperate to fight her destiny. She still carries immense guilt from having killed another human three years ago. Her only hope is to find the legendary sword, Joyeuse, one of two swords said to be able to defeat the Devourer. Furthermore, time is running out, as nights stretch longer and day time hours shrink. The Endless Night approaches. But it's all only legends, right?

Rachelle's quest to find Joyeuse is thrown in a loop though when the King assigns her to be the bodyguard for one of his (many) bastard sons, Armand. Armand is his current favourite, a teenage boy who was marked by the Forest but refused to kill another human being. Somehow, he survived and all he lost were his hands. Initially Rachelle hates Armand as she thinks he's totally lying about being marked and surviving -- that has NEVER happened before -- but she later realizes Armand is instrumental in locating Joyeuse.

This book's strengths: First of all, I think the story world is incredibly unique. I probably butchered my explanation of how the Forest works and you're thinking, "What the hell is she talking about?" but I love the Forest. I love how its sort of everywhere, and sort of isn't. It's an evil force and also a physical place. I just imagine an enchanted forest with creepy animals, monsters and twisted human creatures with antlers and stuff, blowing their horns and going on their hunts for humans. I like forests in general so maybe that's why I'm particularly fond of this concept, haha. Also, the whole idea of being marked and having to kill a person in 3 days or die yourself is pretty unique curse, in an angsty kind of way.

Another great strength of this book is the writing. Rosamund Hodge has a sort of whimsical/enchanted way of writing especially with the chapters explaining the Joyeuse legend (which is spread out throughout the novel). She's a great YA writer, I think, which is kind of rare 'cause there's a lot of shitty YA writers ...

And of course, I loved the plot of the story. It's kind of predictable and you kind of figure out very early on that, duh, the legends are all true (sorry if that spoils things for you, but it's kind of obvious to me), but I still wanted to see how it would all play out.

As for the characters, I think that's the weaker part of the novel. Okay, Rachelle and Armand are not particularly interesting characters. Rachelle is really angsty. Like, really really angsty. Which may be other people's cup of tea but it really wasn't mine. I get why she feels that way, but still. And Armand was just bleh. And for reasons I do not really understand, they fall in love. I hated how it was an AHA! lightbulb moment of realization too. Rachelle just goes, "Oh hey! I just realized I'm in love with you!" It was honestly kind of lame and I expected better, considering how the rest of the novel seems to be so awesome.

Oh and the one person I DO like -- Erec -- well, turns out I really shouldn't be liking him. Rachelle totally feels the same way, haha. I know, I know, Erec's totally evil and all that, but you gotta admire a guy who is utterly devoted to a girl. I mean, he never once turned on her (well, not completely anyway). Plus he's supposed to be swoon-worthy so of course I imagined Erec as the hottest guy ever. That's probably why he was my favourite.

Yeah, there's kind of a love triangle in this book, and a lot of people are burned out by love triangles in YA novels, but I think it was totally fine in this book. It's not forced like it is in some other books. Okay, well, it's a little teensy bit forced, but I thought it all fit the story nicely in this particularly book.

Anyway, I rambled long enough. Bottom line is, this is not really an LRRH book so if you want to read it ONLY because you think it's some sort of LRRH retelling, don't, because it's not. But if you want a good solid, YA fantasy novel, this is your ticket!

My Rating: 4/5

Air Awakens

Author: Elisa Kova
First Published: August 2015
Publisher: Silver Wing Press
Series: Air Awakens #1
392 pages (ebook)

I'm totally guilty of picking up books based on their cover art, and this book has a gorgeous cover. I fell in love immediately! Plus, it was only like, $5 on my Kobo e-reader app, so I decided to read it. Luckily, I felt the story lived up to my expectations. Overall I had a wonderful time reading this novel and I'm so excited to read book two, FIRE FALLING (also $5 only!)

AIR AWAKENS takes place in a high fantasy setting, where the Solaris Empire is at war with some of its neighbors and is pretty much winning, conquering everyone. To be honest I don't really remember the names of the various kingdoms and cities, but that's not really that important. Anyway, our main character is Vhalla, a 17-almost-18 year old library apprentice who works in the palace. What does a library apprentice do in the Imperial library? They read, they organize books, they catalog new books that the Empire takes from the conquered nations, they re-bind and fix up old books, etc. It's a rather scholarly profession to be in. Vhalla loves books and reading and is very happy to be a library apprentice.

One day, Prince Aldrik returns from the warfront gravely injured. Vhalla, mistakenly thinking that it was Prince Baldair that was injured (she secretly crushes on him), frantically searches through the library for the books that lead to the clerics being able to cure the poison in his body. Unknowingly, Vhalla saves Aldrik's life, which is the beginning of her troubles ...

Saving Aldrik's life leads to the Tower of Sorcerers becoming very interested in Vhalla. The notes she took from the books to find the cure for the poison have little elements of magic clinging to them, which is how the sorcerers find Vhalla. Aldrik, a sorcerer himself, becomes interested in Vhalla and reveals to her that she is a sorcerer. Because she is a sorcerer and saved his life, they are now Bonded. However, she is no ordinary sorcerer -- she is a Windwalker, a sorcerer that specializes in manipulating the wind and air. And there hasn't been one in nearly 150 years.

Vhalla is conflicted because sorcery is something most common people fear. She doesn't want to be a sorcerer. She just wants to be an ordinary girl, work in the library, maybe marry a nice guy some day ... However, she is also curious about her magical side. The arrogant and "jerk" Prince Aldrik reluctantly finds himself mentoring Vhalla on her newfound abilities. Unexpectedly for the both of them, the two find themselves growing closer, though due to their vast difference in status, they are both very conscious of becoming too friendly with one another.

Vhalla must decide if she wants to pursue magical learning or not, or have herself Eradicated -- that is, to have all her magical inclinations removed and be a normal human being. At the same time, she cannot have anyone else find out that she is such a rare sorcerer, as Windwalkers are greatly feared for their power and the Empire may want to use her for their own purpose ...

If you watch anime or read manga, then you'll probably enjoy this book a lot. The story, the characters and the scenes in this book are all very reminiscent of anime/manga. Not that that's a bad thing -- I'm just saying, it's clearly influenced. For example, Vhalla seems like a very typical shoujo manga heroine (naive and cute) and Prince Aldrik the handsome, misunderstood jerk who secretly is really nice. Some of the scenes are very dramatic in typical anime/manga fashion. I personally rather enjoy anime and manga from time to time so I really enjoyed this novel. So, I guess, no this isn't a particularly deep story but it's definitely fun to read.

The characters aren't particularly complex, but I do love Vhalla and Aldrik's relationship. Okay, let's face it -- they're totally going to end up a couple. And that's okay. What I love about their relationship is that it's not like a lot of YA relationships where there's instant love and they can't live without one another and they're glued at the hip. By the end of the novel, Vhalla and Aldrik still haven't admitted to one another that they clearly like one another. They haven't kissed at all. They kind of hugged, which is probably the most intimacy they have in the whole novel. They feel like their relationship is up in the air. And I love this ambiguity the characters feel about their relationship because a lot of YA novels tend to rush the romance which cheapens it. This relationship  between Vhalla and Aldrik progresses at a more natural pace and therefore, feels more genuine. As the reader, I feel more emotionally invested in their characters and their relationship because of it.

The story is pretty good. It's not a story that's particularly unique or anything, but it's fun and I'm left eager to read the second book, so that's something. The thing with the story is that the pacing isn't the greatest. The beginning is pretty sluggish. Then there's some really fun scenes, followed by some more slow plot-moving. Then some fun scenes again. Anyway, it alternates. I mean, overall, I enjoyed the story, but I think it could have been improved a little. For example, there's a short paragraph near the end of the book where it's just describing how Vhalla is brushing her hair -- I mean, seriously? Do I care how she's brushing her hair? Or the paragraphs describing clothing and room decorations in great detail. Maybe some people like that stuff, but I just need a general idea to be satisfied with descriptions; I really don't need to know how Aldrik's outfit looks like exactly, down to each button or whatever.

My overall impression is that this is a solid fantasy novel. I've already got book two downloaded onto my e-reader app and I'm pretty excited to find out what happens next. If you like YA fantasy, YA romance, anime or manga, then I think you will find AIR AWAKENS to be a great read.

My Rating:

More Than This

Author: Patrick Ness
Publisher: Walker Books
First Published: May 1, 2014
480 pages (paperback)

Um, so, this is one of those weird situations where I'm done reading the book and I thought it was just okay. Then I go on Goodreads and see everyone and their mom and dog LOVES this novel and has given it 4 or 5 stars. Everyone's reviews are just gushing about how this book is the best thing since sliced bread. It has won freaking awards! And I just thought it was okay??? I mean, did we read the same novel? I usually have the same opinion as the masses (not really a hipster or anything), so I don't know what happened here. But I wasn't really as impressed as everyone else.

Okay, so what is MORE THAN THIS about? Well, this is the kind of novel where I can't tell you too much about what it's about because it'll actually probably just ruin the story. 99% of the fun of this book is finding out, little by little, what the heck is happening. Still, I will make an attempt. A boy wakes up in a seemingly random location. He has very little memory as to what has happened to him and he's pretty much naked. The only thing he knows for sure is that his name is Seth.

Seth wanders around this strange world that doesn't have anybody else in it. He seems to be the only person alive in the whole world. And the world seems like it has gone through an apocalypse or something; everything abandoned and dusty. He gets flashbacks of his life, his regular life, where he lived with his mom, dad and brother Owen in America. He remembers his friends and how they pulled stupid pranks together. But he doesn't know where he is now or what's happening. He begins to suspect that he's in hell, that this is the world after death. But surely there's more to this world than this endless wandering?

My first Patrick Ness novel was his most recent, THE REST OF US JUST LIVE HERE. I also thought that was just ok. I decided to try this one specifically because it got so many rave reviews. You see, I really want to like Patrick Ness' novels. I've heard so many great things about him, I want to join in on the fun! What the heck happened? Did something go whoosh over my head? I don't know. I totally understand the story, I don't think it's a matter of me not "getting" anything. People say this book is moving. But I didn't feel anything even close to being moved at all.

For the first third of the novel or something, Seth is literally alone. And don't get me wrong, Patrick Ness is a terrific writer, absolutely! However, the first third was pretty dull. I did like slowly discovering the world with Seth, but to be honest, he discovered everything a bit too slow for my tastes. The book later got interesting when the other characters entered the plot. Then there was the discovery of what's really happening (hint hint, it's kind of like The Matrix) and that got more interesting. But when I reached the end of the novel, I was just like, "That's it? This is the novel that got so many people in love with it?" I understand the story, but I don't get why people love it.

I think there's supposed to be something inspirational and hopeful about this story. But because it's science fiction and the fact that I didn't find the Matrix-style plot all that relateable, I guess the effect was lost on me.

I guess for the majority of the book, I kept thinking that there will be 'more than this' to MORE THAN THIS, hahaha. Lame jokes. It's not that this was a bad book. I guess I just got way too hyped up over it, and you know, I don't think this kind of novel is my cup of tea at all.

Should I just give up on Patrick Ness?? Maybe he and I just don't mesh. I don't know. We'll see ...

My Rating:

The Girl In The Spider's Web

Author: David Lagercrantz
Creator: Stieg Larsson
Translator: George Goulding
First Published: September 1, 2015
Series: Millennium #4
400 pages (hardcover)

I was kind of avoiding this book at first because it's not really by Stieg Larsson (who has passed away, sadly). I know this book was written based off of Larsson's extensive notes for future books in the series, so it's sort of by him, but not really. I don't know. Then one day, I saw it in the bookstore. I just decided, whatever. I'm going to read it anyway.

So in this fourth book, Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander are baaaack. Sort of. Not together though. For like 99% of the book, they don't actually meet up, but they are in contact with one another.

Blomkvist gets a phone call one night from Frans Balder, a man who claims to have very important, scandalous information regarding a recent hacking job done to the American NSA organization. What makes Blomkvist interested is that the mysterious hacker sounds an awful lot like his old pal Lisbeth. But just as Blomkvist arrives at Balder's house, Balder is brutally murdered. The only witness is Balder's young son August, who was spared because he's autistic and mute. The murderer figures such a child is not going to be able to be a witness for the police anyway, and as the murderer does not really want to kill a child, he leaves him be.

Unbeknownst to the murderer, August is a savant. He has incredible photographic memory and is able to draw perfect, masterful drawings of scenes he has seen. Somehow, this information gets back around to the murderer, who is now understandably regretful that he let August live, as the police are now trying to get August to draw the murderer. It's up to Blomkvist and Lisbeth to step in and protect August, while at the same time figure out what it is that Balder wanted to expose about the NSA.

This book wasn't bad at all. I think this author tried very hard to mimic Stieg Larsson's writing and storytelling style, and in my opinion, he did a pretty good job. I didn't feel like any of the characters were "off" from the original or anything. Blomkvist felt like Blomkvist; Lisbeth was as badass as ever.

With the above said, this fourth book wasn't as great as the first three. I can't really pinpoint why. I mean, the story was interesting and since it was written based off of Stieg Larsson's notes, this story certainly felt like it belonged in the Millennium world. But I don't know if it's the fact that I know it's not written by Larsson or what (which I know is very unfair to this author). It just didn't captivate me in the same way the first three books did.

Maybe it's because Lisbeth seemed like a ... minor character in this book. I mean, it says right on the cover, A LISBETH SALANDER NOVEL. And yet, she's actually more a side character. Maybe that's why I didn't feel like this book lived up to the first three.

Anyway, it was a decent novel over all. It didn't have the power oomph that the first three did, but I liked it.

My Rating: