2018 Reading Goals Review

My first reading goal of 2018 was to read sixty books. I used Goodreads to track that challenge, and I ended up surpassing that goal by reading a total of 69 books. You can see all the books I read in 2018 here.

My second goal was a challenge I created myself called the "Read-My-Own-Books Challenge." My purpose in making this list for myself was to focus on reading books on my shelf instead of reading library books, borrowed books, etc. At the beginning of the year, my TBR started at 293 books, and I had hoped to reduce that to 250 by the end of the year. Although I did complete this challenge, my TBR is currently at 297 books. That is slightly more than when this year started, even though my shelves have gone through quite the transformation. Of the 69 books I read this year, 35 were books I owned at the time of reading them. (This is an important distinction because there were a handful of books I read that were not on my TBR that I later bought a copy of, meaning they were never part of my TBR.) I am also not counting rereads in that number because they are also not part of my TBR. That means with all the books I read and got rid of (I would say I unhauled around 40 books this year, more than half of them unread), I still managed to buy enough books (and get enough books for Christmas) to even out my TBR to almost the same number I started the year with.

Here is my Read-My-Own-Books Challenge with the books I read to fulfill each objective:

1. Read the book that's been on your TBR the longest.
    To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

2. Read a book you bought in high school.
    Graceling by Kristin Cashore

3. Read your most recently acquired book.
    The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan

4. Read the shortest book on your shelf.
    Dream: See It and Seize It by John C. Maxwell

5. Finish every series you started but haven't yet finished.
    Dangerous Deception by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
    The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson

6. Start and finish a new series.
    The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare: City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of 
    Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls, City of Heavenly Fire

7. Read a popular backlist book.
    The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

8. Read a book by one of your favorite authors.
    An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

9. Read a book by an author you've never read before.
    The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

10. Read a book that has a screen adaption.
      The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

11. Read a book you received as a gift.
      Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

12. Read a book you acquired through marriage.
      Finding Daylight by Kimberly Webb

13. Read a book you want to give away after you read it.
      Chasing the Skip by Janci Patterson

14. Read a book not written in prose.
      Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

15. Read a book about animals.
      Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel

16. Read a religious book.
      What's on the Other Side? by Brent L. Top

17. Read a classic book.
      Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

18. Read a nonfiction / memoir / biography.
      Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton

Overall, I am happy with what I managed to read in 2018. I know that if it weren't for this challenge, there are certain books that would still be unread, so I did manage to read some books I otherwise wouldn't have gotten to this year.

Another challenge I had for myself was one I did not write down anywhere but it was more of something I just wanted to see if I could do, and that was to start and finish five completed series, which I did. I read parts of many other series as well, but here are the full series I read this year, in order:
1. The Remnant Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson
2. Graceling Realm by Kristin Cashore
3. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare
4. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
5. The Dark Artifices by Cassandra Clare

This year, I let myself read, for the most part, books that I wanted to read when I wanted to read them, and I didn't create a strict reading list for myself each month. I think it's so important to read what you want to read and what you're in the mood for, and not what anyone expects you to read or what you feel obligated to read. I ended up enjoying almost everything I read this year and now I have some excellent books I can discuss with others.

Top 5 Books I Read in 2018

I read a total of 69 books in 2018, and I want to share a bit about my top five books of the year. It was very hard to narrow it down this year, seeing as I read five full fantasy series, each which I loved for different reasons, plus a multitude of books in other genres, but I feel confident that this list of books contains the ones that will stick (and have stuck) with me the longest.

1. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

This is one of the first books I read in 2018, yet it has stuck with me throughout the entire year, and I still feel enchanted by its magical, ethereal nature. I can’t tell you how many people I have recommended this book to over the past few months. The Forgotten Garden solidified Kate Morton as one of my favorite authors even though it was the only book by her I had read at the time, but I have since been inclined to read another of her books just because this one was so good. I love historical fiction, but this book is special because it combines historical fiction with modern fiction in a mystery that spans decades and characters that are inextricably linked. Check out my full review here.



2. The Heart of Betrayal (but really the entire Remnant Chronicles trilogy) by Mary E. Pearson

The Remnant Chronicles was my favorite of the five complete series I read this year, and The Heart of Betrayal was my favorite book in the series. I absolutely love the concept of a runaway princess on her wedding day that is being chased by the jilted prince and by an assassin, but when they both find her in a nearby town, the princess doesn’t know who is who. I flew through this trilogy in just two weeks because the characters were so enjoyable to read about and the plot was utterly addicting. I like the second book best because (without giving anything away) the male lead in this book is my favorite character, and I love the gritty setting where the majority of the story takes place. This is a great minimal-magic high fantasy story. Here are my reviews of the first book, the second book, and the third book.


3. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Even though I read the whole Graceling Realm trilogy, the third book, Bitterblue, was one I believe could be read as a standalone, and it was by far the best book in the series. It had a heavy political influence, one that didn’t overwhelm the story but enhanced it very well. The character of Bitterblue really had to work through a lot of trials to learn about herself and how to be an effective queen, and I loved seeing her character growth over the whole book. I love the idea of a queen who goes out in hiding among the commoners to learn about them firsthand, and seeing the consequences of this was just so entertaining. Even though I don’t think I’ll reread the other two books in this series, I know I’ll come back to this one.


4. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I listened to this entire audiobook in two days and I still remember exactly where I was as I heard the story unfold around me. This book is absolutely stunning. It’s the story of the famous sex icon and actress Evelyn Hugo as she tells her detailed life story in her old age to a reporter of little merit, a reporter who somehow plays a part in Evelyn’s story. It is addicting, it is entertaining, and it is beautiful. It is hard to describe this book well enough to give it justice, but it is well worth your time. The story is addicting, it is entertaining, and it is beautiful. Here is my full review.





5. Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

I can’t make a “top books” list without including a Sanderson book. This book opened my eyes to the joys of science fiction, which, until now, I always thought I didn’t like. Spensa’s goal and dream in life is to be a pilot, but because of a terrible thing that happened to her father, she is shunned and discounted and deemed unworthy. She works harder than anyone to make it into flight school and learn the ways of a pilot prepared to defeat the alien race called Krell, but she learns some secrets along the way that make her question everything she thought she knew about her world, about the Krell, and even about her father. My review can be found here.

Review: I'D RATHER BE READING by Anne Bogel

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This book is so adorable and relatable. I’d Rather Be Reading is one of those books that’s so charming that I went and bought my own copy immediately after I returned my library’s copy because I wanted to make it a part of my permanent collection. Anne’s essays about books and the reading life are just so heartwarming and perfect. I love reading books about books, and this one quickly jumped to the top of that list for me because of how wonderful it was.

This book contains over twenty short essays about books, the joys of reading, the love of the library, the process of recommending books to others, the difficulty of moving books, what it is like to fulfill a childhood dream by working in a bookstore, and many other bookish topics.

My favorite essay was actually the first one, “Confess Your Literary Sins.” I loved reading what some people consider “sins” among other book lovers, whether it’s okay to like a certain book or admit that you’ve read or haven’t read another book. It was very interesting, especially because I believe all the ones listed were true confessions that Anne has come across during her lifetime. I also loved “Bookworm Problems” because it’s just so dang relatable.

Bogel mentions dozens upon dozens of books within her book, and even though I’d only heard of a few titles and read even fewer of them, I’m grateful for all the book references. If she had this kind of experience with this specific book, I want to read it too; I want to have a similar experience and love the book just as much. I also just love seeing what kinds of books other people read. And the few titles I did recognize, I was so excited to see mentioned because I was just nodding my head right along with her.

I would definitely recommend this fun, short book to any book lover out there who wants to share in the joys of loving books because as she mentioned, half the joy of reading is planning your reading and talking about the books afterward. (And can I just say she has the perfect job? Any job that involves reading books, talking about books, recommending books, and anything else to do with books sounds like heaven to me.)

Review: QUEEN OF AIR AND DARKNESS by Cassandra Clare

Rating: 5/5 stars

I had been eagerly anticipating the release of this book since I finished Lord of Shadows over the summer, and I can safely say this concluding novel did not disappoint. This book was wild.

I listened to the audiobook, which had an amazing narrator, while I read along with the physical book, and I was surprised to find there were quite a few instances where small phrases here or there were changed or actually added into the audio version. I found that very interesting and I wasn’t sure why it happened, but I don’t think any of it was major enough to note specific instances.

I want to start by saying that Queen of Air and Darkness has major spoilers for The Mortal Instruments. This book spoils every single book in that series, especially the ending of City of Heavenly Fire. If you haven’t yet read The Mortal Instruments but want to, read that series before this one. I personally would recommend reading it anyway because that series gives tons of information and backstory that is pertinent in this series and I’m sure in Clare’s future series. Many of our original characters show up in Queen and play important roles. This series is a true sequel to the first series; Many of the problems in this book stem from the outcome of what happened in City of Heavenly Fire.

It’s interesting that we got to see the implications of what could have happened if the end of City of Heavenly Fire had been different. I’m really glad this part was included because it gave credence to the plot of The Mortal Instruments, like what happened then was bigger than we originally thought and affected more than just the characters we saw in that series.

I do like that we get to see some of the original characters in this book though. Clary and Jace make some appearances, more so than in the other Dark Artifices books, among some other unexpected characters who I was happy to see resurface. I feel like all the characters were much more involved in this book than in previous books. Everyone is implicated and has a part in the grand scheme of things, which I appreciated seeing.

I like that the story is told in multiple POVs that follow different groups of people that are each on a different mission. It’s also interesting that each group doesn’t really know what the other group is doing, and this has some interesting implications in the middle of the story where I could definitely see intentions colliding (for example, I thought the thing Kit and Ty were doing would clash with the thing Emma and Julian were doing at a specific point, and I was very anxious to see how that would be resolved). Clare is very good at keeping the reader informed on what everybody in the story is up to, so it never feels like there’s only one important character or group of characters because all the characters have a plot.

Clare is also really good at creating a slow-burning suspension. She draws things out and makes us beg to know what’s going to happen. I’ve seen this method executed poorly before, making the story drag instead of making the story suspenseful, but not with Clare’s books. She’s very good at keeping us invested in every facet of the story so that when a chapter ends following one group of characters, we can’t wait to read about what comes next, but we have to read about other characters for a few chapters, so the cycle of suspension continues.

Clare is really good at writing lots of good messages into her books that have high relevance in today’s time. She includes all kinds of LGBT representation and mental disorders and racial diversity throughout the series, more than I would say most authors include. In this book specifically, she also includes discussions about the importance of voting, why you should punish someone only for their actions and not for their thoughts, and why you should have personal morals and beliefs. All of this is pertinent to anyone who might be reading the series, and I feel that it also adds a ton of depth to her characters’ lives and the story as a whole. I love when authors include relevant discussions about real-world topics in their books without seeming preachy about it.

I could totally see Cassandra Clare writing a spin-off series following Kit and Ty. There was a lot of information revealed about Kit and Ty that left open a whole story arc that could be developed about each of them. I’m not really interested in reading Clare’s prequel series (I couldn’t finish The Infernal Devices and I don’t intend to read The Lost Hours), but any sequel series the keep progressing the timeline further into the future I would be all for. I love Kit and Ty, and I think a series about them, delving into the information that was revealed, would be a great addition to the Shadowhunter world.

There’s actually a lot of loose ends the could lead into many more series being written, now that I think about it. I know Clare is writing The Eldest Curses, which will follow Magnus and Alec, and I can see now where that storyline would go following the ending of this book. I will probably end up reading that series when it comes out, but I hope she also writes more.

All the loose ends made this book feel like it wasn’t a concluding novel. The main storyline in The Dark Artifices was wrapped with Julian and Emma, albeit in a much more unexpected way than I anticipated, but after that there was more information revealed that still created a sizeable cliffhanger at the ending (I do not mean that the story was left open-ended for interpretation but that there was instead a gaping hole that needs to be filled because something is missing). After everything, what is going to happen? There has to be some sort of sequel because there’s no way Clare would end the book like that if she wasn’t intending on furthering the story.

I really enjoyed all of the characters in Queen of Air and Darkness, although I will say that Emma and Julian had some angsty scenes that had me questioning if I’ve ever loved someone the way they seem to love each other . . . .
“They stumbled apart. It felt like having her skin ripped away.” Like calm down, Emma.

And then we had the trio: Mark, Kieran, and Cristina. This was my favorite relationship. I was rooting so hard for the “hot faerie threesome,” as was called in the book. I wanted so bad for all three of them to end up together that every time there was a scene with the three, I was full of anxiety wondering what would happen and if they would figure it out. Mark is still my precious ray of sunshine.

Overall, Queen of Air and Darkness was an amazing conclusion to The Dark Artifices trilogy. I originally didn’t know if I even wanted to read this series, but I am so happy that I did because it is my favorite Shadowhunters series (so far) and it expounded so much on the basis of the world that was established in The Mortal Instruments. I love the depth of detail that Clare puts into her books and how so many threads wind together to create a breathtaking story. I would highly recommend this series if you like urban fantasy, and you could even read it as its own series without having read any previous Shadowhunter books because all the details and ways of the world are explained for newcomers. 

Lastly, I want to note that the first edition hardcover of this book has ten beautiful full-page illustrations in it during important events in the book. I mostly listened to the audiobook but I’m glad I had the physical copy to read along with so I could see these pictures. They enhance the story nicely, and I would love to see them in full-color (but I don’t know if they exist in color). The book is worth checking out to see these pictures.

Review: SKYWARD by Brandon Sanderson

Rating: 5/5 stars

Skyward reminded me of a mix of Airborn and City of Ember and Ender’s Game. Airborn because they fly airships around the sky, City of Ember because they live underground and have similar technology, and Ender’s Game because of the dogfighting and battle techniques in space. I enjoyed all of those books, so to see their concepts come together with added science fiction elements and the writing style of Brandon Sanderson makes for an excellent story!

I was honestly nervous starting this book because I’ve had it in my mind that I don’t like science fiction novels, yet this is actually the first fully science fiction novel I’ve finished. But it is a Sanderson book, and Sanderson can do no wrong, so I knew I had to give it a chance. And I really had nothing to worry about because it was absolutely amazing! (Why have I been telling myself for years that I don’t like sci-fi? This genre is awesome!)

So I thought this story took place in a different universe. Spensa mentions famous historical figures from Earth’s history—Joan of Arc, Sun Zhu, and Genghis Khan, to name a few—which means that the characters are originally from Earth. We do learn in the prologue that the people on their planet of Detritus are basically colonists, but I find it weird that they came from the Earth that we know in the real world. Maybe that’s just because I’m not used to reading sci-fi and I’m used to Sanderson’s books being set totally in fantastical worlds, but it caught me off guard to read familiar names.

Skyward is about Spensa, whose biggest dream and goal is to become a pilot just like her father was and defend her planet against the alien race called Krell, but she faces obstacle after obstacle because of her father’s legacy that he left behind, a legacy not of triumph but of cowardice. Spensa is determined to surpass everyone’s low expectations of her and become a pilot anyway, even if it means flouting everyone who could be the key to her success. As she makes her way into flight school, she discovers secrets from the past and learns news about the Krell that could change everything she thought she knew about her father and maybe even her desire to become a pilot.

That’s a basic description of the story, but it’s not really what the book is about. There is so much more going on that’s hard to describe, in-depth details that create a whole new plot on top of this basic outline. I never gave a second thought to the synopsis, even though I admit it sounded average and a bit superficial, but about halfway through I realized all my assumptions were wrong. Everything I thought this book was about was not what it was about at all. The main issue Spensa was facing was something I never would have guessed, but it made the story so much more meaningful.

Sanderson never fails to blow my mind and leave me speechless, and I never should have doubted him. He’s so good at doing the unexpected. He never takes the common, predictable route but instead goes somewhere completely unfathomable, and that makes his books all the better for it.

The characters in Skyward are amazing, each with distinct personalities. Spensa is aggressive, but not in a mean way. She’s determined to prove herself, and I loved seeing her come face-to-face with foes, or at least talk about coming face-to-face with her foes, because she is this tiny girl who packs a mighty punch with her huge personality, and she’s never afraid to go up against all odds. I love her over-the-top proclamations of victory and vengeance.

Although I love Spensa, M-Bot is definitely my favorite character (AIs tend to be some of my favorite characters in general). He is so precious and just made me smile every scene he was in. I can’t wait to see what happens to him in the next book.

Something random that I loved about this book was its use of fake swear words, like “scud.” I enjoy seeing this in books because I feel like it helps to show how the novel’s world is developed and different from our own.

Overall, Skyward was a really delightful story from my favorite author, and I think it’s a good book for people who are new to or don’t usually read science fiction because it still felt relatable and not too technical. I, at least, loved it. Regardless if you like sci-fi stories, the plot is highly engaging, the characters are thoroughly developed, and the dialogue is actually quite funny! I literally laughed out loud at least ten different times throughout the book. I cannot wait until Starsight comes out next year so I can see what happens to Spensa and everyone else.

On a more critical note (I don’t want to say anything bad about a Sanderson book, but the editor in me can’t help it), I was surprised to see many instances where Cobb’s name was printed Cob (not Sanderson’s fault, but I still was taken aback when I saw it). Also, there were a few details about the world that I felt were under-explained or skimmed over that I would have enjoyed more information about. I’m sure some of this is going to come to light in books two and three, but I also think some of it actually did need more explanation in book one. And this has left me with some questions (these are not spoilers, but they may not make sense if you haven’t read the book):

—I’m wondering where the debris came from that surrounds their planet. What did it use to be before it was broken, and how did it get into orbit around the planet?
—What are the Krell? (I know information about the Krell was intentionally left out to build suspense for later books.) We still know so little about them, and I’d like to know where they came from.
—What happened to the technology akin to that found in M-Bot? It seems that it had become forgotten over time, but the human race is still trying to improve their technology, so why can’t they replicate these designs from the past? What happened to make them technologically jump back in time?
—Why is M-Bot so interested in mushrooms? There has to be more to his obsession than comedic relief. Little do we know, but the mushrooms could somehow be the key to defeating the Krell! (I’m kidding but I’m also wondering if there is something special about them.)
—What are the “eyes”? This is the information I am most curious about because I feel like it will have the biggest impact on the ultimate outcome of the whole series.

Review: HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS by J. K. Rowling

Rating: 5/5 stars

I had so much fun rereading this book via the audio version. Jim Dale is a fantastic narrator and his voice acting really enhanced the story.

I can tell this is an early book because I noticed a bit of telling instead of showing, specifically during the scenes where time passes. I didn't remember the first few books being like this, probably because the story is so amazing that any negatives are immediately forgotten, but I was actually surprised to see this amateur technique being used in Harry Potter. Rowling's writing does improve over the course of the series, and I can really see that.

I've always liked Chamber of Secrets, but I know it's a lot of people's least favourite Harry Potter book. I'm not sure why this is the case though, as it is darker and the stakes are higher than the first book (although, this is the case with every subsequent book). I love how there are so many details that are weaved throughout the story that come to light at the end. That's something I love about all the Harry Potter books and what makes an excellent story in my opinion: details that are seemingly important in the beginning turn out to be of drastic consequence in the end.

Like with Sorcerer's Stone, I'm surprised by how much Rowling fit into this short book while maintaining the integrity of the story and characters. There is such an involved plot with many details and descriptions that the story feels longer than it is (but not in a bad way). I guess it's just Rowling's gift to write in this way.

I wish I could write a more coherent and descriptive review of this book, but what is there really to say? Harry Potter is an amazing series of books, and that's that.

Review: WHITE SAND, VOL. 2 by Brandon Sanderson

Rating: 3/5

The whole planet of Taldain and its sand magic is a great addition to the Cosmere, and I hope Sanderson eventually makes it back to this story and revises and officially releases the White Sand novel into the world.

While I enjoyed the concept behind the graphic novel, I much preferred the first installment as I felt that this volume was just missing something. The story was anticlimactic at times, and I struggled to fully grasp some details of the narrative. There were scenes when I could tell something important was happening or some crucial information was just revealed, but I couldn’t quite tell what. I hate to say anything negative about any of Sanderson’s works, but I think the graphic novel format here hinders the story. I am really looking forward to reading the prose version of White Sand because I think I will enjoy it much more due to the extra layer of details.

Something that bothered me, that I did notice in the first volume but didn’t include in my review, was that the people who live on Dayside, under the perpetual sun, are light-skinned. And the people who live on Darkside, where it’s perpetual night, are dark-skinned. This is totally backward of how it would actually be, so it confused me at first.

One nice thing about this version, though, is that Sanderson’s humor has managed to transfer to the graphic novel format. I really appreciate this because his humor is something not to be missed in any of his works.

Another thing I liked was that when the characters speak in different languages, the speech bubbles change color slightly so you know when the language changes. This was really neat to me, and I’ve never seen this technique used before (I didn’t notice it in volume one, but that’s not to say it wasn’t there too).

Something I want to note is that the art in the last chapter drastically changed design from the rest of the story. It changed from a gruff style to a neatly polished style, and I have no idea why. At first, I thought it might be because the characters were in a dream sequence or an alternate reality, but then the chapter—and the book—ended and I realized it must be that the story got a new artist (I later confirmed this by looking at the title page that I had skimmed over earlier). I would be curious to find out why this happened and if the new artist will be drawing for the third book because I actually prefer the cleaner art style (even though I think the original style suits the story better).

I have no idea when the third and final White Sand volume is being released but I think I should read the novelization of the story first so I don’t spoil myself for the ending. I do hope the last volume will be a bit more interesting plot-wise than this one that was a bit slower-paced, but we shall see.

Review: THE LAKE HOUSE by Kate Morton

Rating: 5/5 stars

Kate Morton has done it again! This book was amazingly breathtaking, beautiful in every way. I could not put it down, which was so refreshing after my last read that I struggled to pick up.

You know when a book is so delicious that you physically can’t read the pages fast enough? When you ignore chores, showering, sleeping, and even food just to fit in one more chapter? That was this book for me. (I would have finished it even faster if it I didn’t have to work.)

The Lake House follows the lives of three different people: Eleanor in 1911; her daughter Alice in 1933; and detective Sadie in 2003, who is trying to uncover the seventy-year-old mystery of what happened to Eleanor’s son, Theo, when he randomly disappeared one night. I have read in other reviews that some people found it hard to keep the timelines straight and what was happening to who, but I didn’t find that to be the case at all. It was actually very easy for me to mentally construct a timeline for this story, and when the chapter began and stated it was 1933, I would go right to that spot in my mind. I think if you actually pay attention while you read, it won’t be confusing in the least bit. The characters each have distinct voices, as well.

The narrative did start out rather slow, establishing the lives of each of the characters, and I found myself eagerly waiting for the mystery to start. That was probably just my own anticipation of getting lost in another Kate Morton book, but keep in mind that the story does pick up its pace throughout.

Kate Morton is just so dang clever! She literally spells out for you everything you need to know, yet the ending still hits you like a wall, when you look back and finally realize all the hints and pieces of the story were there all along. I don’t know how she does it, but she is good!

I actually did guess one of the big reveals at the end during the first few chapters of the book. There were no clues or anything; I just pulled an absurd idea out of my head and went on believing it the whole story. I had almost given up hope when in the last few pages it came to light that I was right all along! Always trust your instincts. And this in no way dampened the ending of the story or the joy from the journey. I was actually very happy that I had guessed right because it was such a sweet moment for the characters.

One thing I especially loved about The Lake House is that one of the characters, Alice, is a mystery writer. At one point, she explains to someone about things that mystery writers should do to concoct a good story. I loved this part because it was like a foreshadowing of Kate’s own novel. Alice mentioned some things and I was like, oh I bet that’s how she did it in this book too! It was great. The way Morton weaves her story together is truly superb.

What I love about her writing is that she gives the reader clues in every chapter, hints all along the way, so when you get to the end it’s like all the details are coming together and you finally understand why each piece of information was given. I don’t like books that keep everything a secret and then drop it all on you in the last few pages, and this book is definitely not like that. She truly weaves the mystery into the story, into the lives of each character, and it’s beautiful how all the details intertwine. Her words painted a vivid picture in my mind with every detail.

I must mention that I do like the first book of Kate’s that I read, The Forgotten Garden, better than this book because of its air of magical whim, while The Lake House is a darker novel with a more grim setting, but it is still excellent and completely deserving of five stars. One significant difference between the two books is that in The Forgotten Garden, the reader doesn’t know any clues that the characters don’t know. The past and present characters reveal secrets at the same time as each other. But in The Lake House, the past and present characters know completely different information that only slightly overlaps at times, so the reader ends up knowing clues that one narrator does not know, adding a bit of dramatic irony to the novel. It’s a different writing technique, and I liked being able to experience each style.

I cannot wait to read every single one of Kate Morton’s books in the future because she is definitely one of my favourite authors. If you enjoy dynamic historical fiction characters that are somehow connected to a character in the present who is trying to solve a decades-old mystery that is deeply intertwined in both her life and the lives of those in past generations, set mostly in the English countryside, then you will love Kate Morton’s books. I can’t recommend her enough!

Review: RED SISTER by Mark Lawrence

Rating: 2/5 stars

This book sounded awesome: it’s all about assassin nuns. I’d heard so many people raving about how amazing it was, and if you look at other reviews you will notice that almost everyone loves this book. Naturally, I had no doubt I would enjoy it too.

I was so very wrong.

I really, really wanted to like this book, and I honestly thought I would, but I just could not become interested in the story. I probably should have given the book one star for how bored and disappointed I was the entire time, but I didn’t because I do still like the idea behind the story, and I think this is an in-depth world that Lawrence probably spent a lot of time crafting. I didn’t hate the book, but it just did not deliver for me.

Everyone mentions in their reviews how the opening sentence/scene hooks you with epic action and the journey is only uphill from there, and even though the beginning was action-packed, I wasn’t pulled into the story yet. I kept reading. We follow Nona as a little girl when she was about to be hanged for a crime, and a nun comes to save her and take her to the Convent of Sweet Mercy. The first eighty or so pages were just Nona telling us her backstory—her entire life story in excruciating detail—and I was honestly so bored. The time jumps back and forth really disrupted the flow of the narrative. I could not keep all the characters straight, and Nona’s point of view felt very distant; I couldn’t connect with her, and in fact, I think she’s a very unrelatable character. Plus I didn’t care about her childhood drama at all.

Finally, Nona arrives at the convent, so I thought the plot would pick up and start to be interesting because I would be learning about this magical world and the different classes of Sisters and what they do. But the story still dragged for me. I couldn’t keep straight the Red Sister vs. the Holy Sister vs. the Holy Witch, etc. or what they all do, or which bloodlines produce which traits, and it just made me confused and uncaring. I do not think this aspect is explained well. Luckily for me, there was a glossary in the beginning will all this information because I had to keep referencing it.

Nona meets different girls at the Convent, some who tell her about the classes of Sisters in an unfortunately info-dumpy way that was difficult to keep straight, and she begins training. Much of this training is Nona sitting in a classroom learning different lessons. Long, slow lessons about the Path or something related to the Ancestor. Or she’s sparring with another sister in an uninteresting way. I just wanted something to happen! And we never learned what the whole point of the training was—what do these girls do after the convent? Who are they being trained to fight against? So much of this world felt left open and undeveloped, and I think Lawrence failed at telling what had the potential to be a great story.

Instead of Red Sister being about magical assassin nuns like I thought it would be, it was instead about little girls who are told by nuns about “magic” (I use this term lightly) but never actually get to use it, and they hardly ever assassinate anybody. We are told that Nona killed someone in her past, but there was none of that during the actual story until the very end. Where was all this killing I was promised?

The nuns are taught the Path, and they are supposed to one day touch the Path and walk the Path, but I honestly can’t even tell you what the Path is. Is it an intangible idea, the way of the Ancestor (who is only an idea but never fleshed out as an actual person; was the Ancestor even a real person?), or is it an obstacle course in the Convent? I actually have no clue what the Path is. And what does it mean to walk the Path? Why is this important? And what exactly is their religion? The whole concept of the story was cool, but it was entirely lost on me because nothing was explained well. For a story that takes place in a convent, there was very little explanation about the religion, which I found to be disappointing. I should not be asking these basic questions after reading 475 pages in this world.

The writing style is also very distant. I don’t know what specifically makes it that way, but I could not connect with any of the characters. They all blended together and I couldn’t tell one Sister from another, nor one girl from another. Everyone had basically the same personality. I also didn’t particularly like the prose because it was very dry. After reading this book, I don’t want to read any more books by Mark Lawrence if this is how he normally writes.

I honestly felt like my eyes were glazing over while I read. I could not even be made to care about any part of this book. At one point I reread an entire chapter and didn’t even realize it until the last page.

Even during action scenes, it felt like there was no action and no suspense. I don’t even know what was happening because all of the sudden the scene would be over and I just felt let down.

The whole story was so slow. I would sit down to read for an hour and realize I had read only ten pages. In an hour. I kept waiting and waiting for some excitement to occur, anything engaging to happen. But no matter how long I kept reading, this book never enraptured me like I had hoped so badly it would. I thought I would mark it as unfinished after fifty pages, but then I gave it until 100 pages, and then I gave it until 200 pages, and then eventually I struggled to the last page. I kept wanting to put it down but I also wanted so badly for it to get better, so I kept reading. But unfortunately, the story never did get any better.

Here are a few things I liked, at least: there was very little swearing in the book, which I appreciated; there’s also no romance in the book, which was nice for a change; there’s a strong focus on female friendships and what it really means to be someone’s friend; and Nona is not a chosen one, thank goodness, or I might have enjoyed the book even less.

I think my expectations were way too high because I ended up being extremely disappointed with Red Sister. I think it has the chance to be a good book for the right person, seeing as it has so many rave reviews, but I couldn’t tell you who the “right person” is because it was not for me. I never wanted to give up on the story so I kept pushing through, hoping it would get better, but it took me ages to finish. I kind of want to know what happens next, and I had planned on reading the whole trilogy, but I think I’m going to stop after this book because I don’t want to endure that much boredom for two more tomes. But if there’s ever a movie, I will definitely watch it because it would be loads more interesting and developed than the book is.

“Be warned, young Nona: a book is as dangerous as any journey you might take. The person who closes the back cover may not be the same one that opened the front one.”

Review: HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE by J. K. Rowling

Rating: 5/5 stars

I would love to write a proper review for this book (and for every book in the series), but I don't even know what to say that hasn't already been said. It's just a downright good story.

I first read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone when I was in seventh or eighth grade, but I didn't remember a thing about the story, and I didn't get past the second book then anyway, so I don't really count it as having read the book then. When I was a sophomore/junior in college, I decided it was time to actually read the whole series, so that's when I officially read it for the first time. And now, a few years later, I wanted to read the whole series again.

I was really in the mood for a reread of the Harry Potter series because they're the perfect books to read as it starts to get cold outside. This time around I am listening to the audiobooks narrated by Jim Dale, and I am amazed at his narration. He is very engaging to listen to, and his voices for Hagrid and Dumbledore sound exactly like they do in the movies. I really enjoyed this first one read by him, and I look forward to listening to the other six books on audio as well.

I forgot how much actually happened in this book. I've seen the movie so many times that when something happened in the book that wasn't in the movie, I was shocked that I had forgotten that. But there really is so much going on in this first book that I'm amazed it's not longer.

I love how in-depth the story is. I remember my first time reading this series a few years ago, and I was truly in awe of how well the story was concocted. Little details here and there set up the plot for the whole series, so when the book ended, I was hooked and wanting to know everything. Rowling's writing is not the best in this first book, and I can see that now that I've read all seven Harry Potter books and many more books in general, but I didn't mind at all. I just noticed that there was a lot of exposition and explanation instead of dialogue in places, especially in the beginning, but of course she had to give background and set up the whole world.

One thing I love about the Harry Potter books is that they have that classical, old magic and are set in a castle, but the story is also modern and set in today's age on earth. In my opinion, the setting of Hogwarts still being around in present-day England but just invisible to the muggles makes the story seem really relatable. Like Hogwarts could actually be there. I love when magical and fantastical elements in stories are believable, and I think that's one of the main reasons I first connected to Harry Potter as a fantasy series. It was the first fantasy series I read, now that I think about it, and it was my gateway drug into fantastical literature because that's my favorite genre now.

I know I will always treasure this series, even though I was late to the game and didn't read it when I was younger like everyone else my age did. I don't regret waiting until I was twenty-years-old to read it, but I do deeply wish that I hadn't known how the whole series ended before I started. Either way, it's still an excellent and timeless story.

Review: WHITE SAND, VOL. 1 by Brandon Sanderson

Rating: 4/5 stars

I read an excerpt of White Sand in Arcanum Unbounded earlier this year and fell in love with the story. I couldn’t wait to read the full-length graphic novel adaption.

In Arcanum Unbounded, the panels were just black and white, but in this actual graphic novel, there are full-color illustrations. The art style is not my favorite—it’s rather gruff—but every image is very detailed, which I can appreciate.

At first, I thought I was going to give this book five stars—it’s a Sanderson book, after all, and I absolutely loved the beginning. But after I got into reading more of the story, I was left wanting more. Some of the details surrounding how the world is set up and how the sand magic works and how the Daysiders are different from the Darksiders seemed like it was missing to me. I would read the last panel on a page, and then the next panel on the next page started with “two days later” or “days passed” or something like that, and it felt like the dialogue was cut off mid-conversation and part of the story was missing.

I am disappointed that I feel this way because I absolutely love this world and its magic system, but I think the feeling of missing something comes with the territory of reading a graphic novel.

White Sand was originally a fairly lengthy prose novel. It’s an unpublished work of Sanderson’s, but it is the where this story comes from. If I read the actual novel, with all the descriptions and details included in the prose, plus with all of the minor side-plots and conversations that naturally get omitted from the graphic translation, I do not think I would feel like anything was missing; I think I would enjoy the novel more than the graphic novel. I will have to read it to find out, though.

I think White Sand is a very strong story nonetheless, and I look forward to reading the other volumes. (Part of me wonders if I should read the prose novel first so as not to spoil myself.) In my opinion, this story would make an amazing movie because of how the sand magic would come to life. I hope someday it (or anything by Sanderson) becomes a movie for the world to enjoy.

Review: NIGHTFALL by Jake Halpern & Peter Kujawinski

Rating: 2/5 stars

I decided on this audiobook because I wanted an October-themed read, and I guess this was technically one, but it wasn’t really what I was expecting and it didn’t satisfy my desire for a spooky book. It wasn’t scary at all and it had only minor suspense elements, but it does take place almost primarily during Night in the forest with strange creatures.

Marin, Kana, and Line are from the island of Bliss, which gets 14 years of sunlight and then 14 years of Night. That concept alone was intriguing enough to get me to read the book, but it’s not really what the book’s about.

The sun is setting and it is almost Night, and the inhabitants must leave the island and travel to the desert for safety. Just as the boats are about to set sail, Line goes missing, and Marin and Kana go into the forest in search of him. It is not hard to guess that the trio gets left behind and has to survive Night on the island, presumably for fourteen years, until everyone comes back.

This book had its creepy and mysterious moments, but something was just missing. It felt like a mixture of Midwinterblood and Bird Box, and I frequently thought of both those books while reading this one.

I was mostly enjoying the story until about halfway through when I started to lose interest because everything started to turn toward paranormal elements, and it honestly felt like a cop-out to me. Like there was no way to explain certain events without introducing these inhuman creatures. And I didn’t like that. I don’t really like paranormal or supernatural stories, especially when they catch me off guard. I didn’t know this book was going to be that way prior to starting it, so I was a little disappointed when it happened.

I almost always don’t like supernatural creatures in stories because they are never explained well enough. Where did these things come from anyway? The people have lived on Bliss for fourteen years yet have never seen the creatures? We found out where they were hiding all that time, but it just seems so improbable that neither race would run into the other in all those years.

Another thing that disappointed me was that I expected the characters to not be able to see at all when it became Night on the island—it would be pitch black darkness. But there’s a moon. And they can kind of see. So that made the story a little more lackluster because it lowered the stakes for them. Have you ever run around in complete blackness, no moon or sliver of light at all? It’s terrifying. You have no idea which way anything is, no depth perception. You have to rely completely on your other senses to get you where you’re going. And I kind of thought that’s how this story would be—and it would have been cool to listen to on audio because I could lie in bed and close my eyes to imagine myself in their place. But it wasn’t like that. The characters can see and they describe things they’re seeing all the time, even if their vision is rather poor during Night.

Also, this story was told from a third-person omniscient perspective, which can make it difficult to keep track of who’s thinking what or who’s saying what at times. Because of this, I did feel a bit detached from the characters throughout the story.

Overall, Nightfall was not what I was expecting or hoping for, so it was ultimately disappointing and forgettable to me. But I don’t think it was a bad book; it just didn’t live up to my expectations. I would still encourage you to read it if it sounds interesting to you, but now you might have a better idea of the minor details that mattered to me and how they were presented in the story.

The best part of the book, in my opinion, was the song included at the end of the audiobook called “The Other Side of Me” by Celia Rose. The lyrics sounded like she wrote them based on this book, which is pretty neat.

Review: JACKED UP by Erica Sage

Rating: 3/5 stars

I was a little nervous starting this book for two reasons: 1) my favorite teacher wrote it so I obviously wanted to love it, and 2) I was worried it was going to be rather sacrilegious, in which case I knew I wouldn’t love it.

Jacked Up is about fifteen-year-old Nick, who is having trouble coping with his sister’s suicide and who is haunted by the ghost of Jack Kerouac. His parents try to help him grieve by sending him to a Christian church camp for a week. There is a box at the camp where people put their confessions and their darkest secrets. Nick slips in a secret, one he didn’t even want to write down in the first place, and later that day the box gets stolen. Worried his confession will be revealed, Nick sets out to find who stole the box and retrieve his slip of paper.

The writing is great: funny and descriptive and interesting. And the plot of Nick grieving for his sister’s death and being sent to a religious summer camp (and the messages that us readers get from Nick’s experience) was enjoyable too. But I didn’t really care for the actual camp itself.

That is my only real criticism of the book—how the church camp was portrayed and what kinds of activities happened there. I think the point was that it be outrageously absurd, but I was still really bothered by it. I was very suspicious of that camp because it seemed pretty unrealistic to me: kids dressing up as prostitutes and lepers from the Bible, kids watching a Jesus character perform magic tricks (it is deeply disrespectful to dress up and pretend to perform miracles like Jesus, by the way, and I would be so offended if I saw this at camp), kids playing with Ouija boards, kids carrying literal crosses for their sins (!?), and kids shunning Nick for liking Harry Potter because it’s “satanic.” We’ve had Harry Potter-themed events at my (somewhat conservative) church camp before, so Nick being asked to use his Harry Potter towel “wrong side out” seems overly drastic to me. In fact, the six years I went to church camp were vastly different from Nick’s experience, and it was always a positive environment for me. I think a lot of what happened at Nick’s church camp is, frankly, wrong, but I have no idea if it is a realistic portrayal of some kind of church camp out there or if it has been exaggerated for the book; I can compare only my own experiences. Regardless, I enjoyed the whole camp experience better if I looked at it as a parody on modern devout Christians and how every Christian that comments on the hypocrisy in the church and then says “I’m not judging you” is, in fact, actually a hypocrite that’s secretly judging you.

Something I think a lot of people nowadays, especially Christians (and many of the characters in this book), don’t understand is that Christ loved everyone, and to be a true follower of Christ, we should also love everyone. Judging someone for this or that or deciding that someone is going to hell is wrong and that’s not our decision to make. Only God, who can see a person’s heart, mind, and desires, can truly make that judgment call.

I am glad that Nick sees all the irony and hypocrisy at the camp, and he outwardly notices it and questions it many times, which I greatly appreciated. Those kinds of problems should never go unquestioned.

I thought Nick was a great protagonist in this story. He has to make some hard decisions and we see how he changes because of his choices. And I love that he is obsessed with grammar. I want to see more characters like him in books because actually knowing how to properly use English is so underrated these days.

One of the funniest parts of Jacked Up is when the campers rewrote modern rap songs to be religious. I definitely liked “I like big Bibles and I cannot lie.” The other funniest part was that one scene with way too many donkey jokes that just kept coming. I was actually tearing up from laughter.

I liked the pages in every chapter that had the confessions on them because it gave us more perspective into each of the characters’ lives, and it helped me to sympathize with some of the more unlikeable characters. You can tell that Mrs. Sage has spent a lot of time around teens because the characters’ personalities felt authentic, and the jokes and comments they made were relevant.

I have not read On the Road by Jack Kerouac, but I’d be curious to see if there are any parallels between it and Jacked Up because both Jack and his book play huge rolls in this story.

Overall, Jacked Up is a funny book that delves into some deep topics and ultimately shares an important message about overcoming our battles and not letting the world define us. I think it would be an excellent book for the right audience. I, however, do not believe I was quite the right audience, but only because of my religious sensitivity. I still enjoyed the story though! Honestly, the longer I read the book the more I liked it. And I loved the ending. Nick overcomes issues that have been burdening him for a long time, and so do other campers, and it’s really nice to see the resolution.

“You know how they say eyes are the window to the soul and all that? For me, art is like the door out of my soul. It’s safe to come out that way.”

P.S.: Mrs. Sage, I love you, and you’ve always been my favorite and most influential teacher. I can’t wait to see what books you will write in the future. It is so awesome you were able to tell the story you wanted and get it published for all the world to read, and I’m glad I had the chance to read it.

Review: AN ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE THING by Hank Green

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

I knew right from the first paragraph—the first sentence, even—that this was going to be an amazing book. The first sentence sets the tone for the whole story and establishes a very distinct voice for Hank Green, or rather, for April May, one that was so relatable and casual and honest and hilarious.

I honestly had no idea what this book was about when I started it. I only picked it up to read it for the book club at my work, and I really can’t say if I would have read it otherwise or not. I like John Green’s books, but that doesn’t mean his brother’s books are going to be anything similar. While this had both some similarities and some differences from John’s style, I am so glad I read it because I had a downright great time.

April May (that name cracks me up, but I think that’s the point) is a twenty-three-year-old fine arts grad that is just trying to survive in New York City when, one night, she walks by a massive metal statue of a Transformer in samurai armor standing on the sidewalk. She decides that she and her friend Andy need to document it for YouTube. Not expecting anything to come of the video, they go to sleep, only to wake up to sudden internet fame. April May and Andy were the first to discover a Carl, one of sixty-four metal statues that have suddenly appeared in major cities all over the world. The duo decides to embrace this newfound fame as they investigate these new marvels and what their purpose is.

At first, I thought this was a young adult book because I just assumed that Hank would write young adult books like his brother, John, does. But it’s not, really. While the plot is one I could see being in a young adult novel because of its whimsy and adventure, the characters are all graduated from college and in their early twenties. There’s also quite a bit of profanity in here, more than I normally see in young adult, so I guess this is an adult novel after all; however, I think it’s one that readers both young and old would enjoy. Like this book is a great transition into adult books if you read only YA because it still has that young adult feel. The story reads like a contemporary but it’s technically a sci-fi. I think this book would also be a good transition into the more fantastical genres for people who read mostly contemporary because it does feel mostly like a contemporary to me but still has many science fiction elements.

The story was slightly unrealistic at times as far as the convenience that surrounded April: different pieces of the mystery kept falling into her lap as far as fame, money, and people go. It almost felt a little too easy at times, but I’m going to ignore this fact because of how good the overall story was.

I got the feeling that what Green was trying to communicate in his debut novel was his own thoughts and feelings about the prevalence and impact of the social internet and the importance of worldwide collaborative efforts to make a difference in our society. He brings up some very real issues in this story: how fame changes us, how money influences decisions, how hatred spreads so easily online, and how the act of people working together can accomplish something huge. I also got the impression that April May’s experience with internet fame is similar to Hank Green’s own experience, just based on how she was written; it seemed like he was trying to discreetly share some of his struggles with us in a way that will help us better understand him along with other internet-famous people. The book did feel a tiny bit preachy at times. It didn’t bother me, but I did notice it. Again, though, I’m going to ignore this because I really enjoyed the story and the message (even if it was slightly overdone).

The dreams were definitely my favorite parts of the story. [SPOILERS IN ITALICS: I love the idea of a contagious dream, one that you can control and solve clues in. Sign me up! It reminds me a lot of a full-dive virtual reality game (see: Ready Player One), which I’ve always wanted to experience. But I never even been able to have a lucid dream, so there’s probably no hope for me.]

Another piece of this book that I loved was the multimedia aspect that I think enhances any story so much, consisting of tweets, email transcripts, video transcripts, and text messages.

I think Miranda was my favorite character because of her utter nerdiness (I struggled to understand what she was saying half of the time), and I also really enjoyed Andy. I thought April May was a good lead character, but she was an anti-hero of sorts. She made lots of morally grey decisions that led me to ask lots of questions about humanity and the price of fame, etc. Sometimes I couldn’t decide if I should root for April or groan at her or sigh in disbelief at what she was doing.

[SPOILERS IN ITALICS: The only part of this book I didn’t like was the unbelievability of some of it. Not the whole space-aliens-have-invaded-earth bit, but the part where some of the Carls’ clues revolve around popular American music. I mean, these things aren’t even from our planet, and they’ve appeared in major cities across the whole globe, so why is it American music that they use as their clues? Why not a popular Spanish song or Russian song? (I’m aware the song-clues are from English and Canadian artists, but they are still songs that were popular in America, the “dominant” country of the world. I just think it would have been cool to include popular songs that the white populous of the world wouldn’t know but another huge portion of people would.) The whole book feels very American, but it was supposed to be about something happening worldwide. I think maybe that was an oversight on the part of the author.]

There were also some clues that were just too simple or convenient, and that made the story lose a bit of credibility for me. I don’t like when part of the plot seems unrealistic within the boundaries of the world. I have explained before and I’ll say it again that I like stories to be believable within their own realms. You can get as crazy as you want, but once something happens and you just chalk it up to “this is sci-fi; anything can happen” without giving sufficient explanation and background, I’ve lost interest. On top of that, this story was downright weird. I mean it was a good weird, but weird nonetheless. (In the author’s note, Hank does say he wanted to write a book about “a cascade of weirdness that just kept getting weirder,” and I’d say he succeeded.)

I would be very surprised if Hank didn’t write a sequel after that ending [SPOILERS IN ITALICS: when April finally comes back. Where was she all this time and what happened to her? Obviously, Hank Green knows the answers to these questions. Then there’s also the fact that Carl told April, “Your story just started, April May.” What is the story she has to tell? I’m a little disappointed in how vague and unresolved the ending was as far as the Carls go—we still don’t know hardly anything about them or why they chose April for their plan or what that plan is.] I don’t know if I necessarily want a sequel because I prefer standalone novels (and I thought this was a standalone), but I would still be interested in reading another story about the future of April May and Andy and, possibly, Carl.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is a purely enjoyable and entertaining novel. I had such a fun time with all these characters as they tried to figure out the mystery behind the Carls. I definitely recommend checking out Hank Green’s debut, and I think he’s an author to keep an eye on in the future. I am very happy that I decided to read this book, and it ultimately brought up a lot of issues in the world today and started an important discussion about them. It’s a novel that left me thinking about its messages hours after I read the last page, and I think that’s the mark of a good book.

Review: STRANGE THE DREAMER by Laini Taylor

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

I started listening to this book on a whim when I was in the mood for an audiobook, and I’m so glad that I did. The audiobook is excellent, the story is absolutely wonderful, and my heart is full of compassion for these characters.

At first, I was a little confused about what was happening. The timeline was jumping around and all the descriptions felt very abstract. But then about an hour into the book I started focusing better and fell in love with the story.

Lazlo Strange is a librarian, hungry for any knowledge about the “mythical” city of Weep. When Lazlo was a child, he dreamed of going to Weep. Then one day the true name of the city disappeared from his mind and he has been forever enthralled with trying to discover why that happened.

What’s interesting is that the story is written in a third-person omniscient voice, which is rather unusual, I think. There would be two sentences in the same paragraph about two people who don’t know each other doing two different things in two different locations. It was very different, and I think it might have added to some of the confusion, but I’m glad to have read a book like this anyway.

Unfortunately, I felt detached from all the characters in the book except for Lazlo and, eventually, Sarai. I don’t know if that was because of the omnipresent voice or because I listened to the audiobook, but it made me a little sad that I didn’t connect with more of the characters. However, Lazlo and Sarai are so precious and I love them so much.

This book made me think about what it means to be a god. If a god can be killed and controlled by humans, is he or she really even a god? Is a god someone with an unnatural ability? What happens then when an ordinary human develops or discovers an unnatural ability, do they become a god? Is it someone who lives away from the rest and looks over the people? What happens then when they come to earth? What does a human have to do to become a god? There are godchildren in this book, but I can’t really tell why they’re considered “gods,” or what even makes a god. I see this issue quite a bit in fantastical literature, so it’d be interesting to research it more.

Laini Taylor’s descriptions of the ethereal dreamscapes are so vivid and lush. I’ve never read a book before in which the main character spends half the book sleeping, yet I found myself looking forward to the chapters when Lazlo would lie down in bed each night. It made me so happy to see Sarai and Lazlo together in his dreams.

Strange the Dreamer is about dreams and books and libraries and alchemy and fairy tales and magic. It’s turning out to be quite difficult to fully describe or review this book, but it was such a beautiful story. I’m so glad I listened to it, and now I’m ready to devour Muse of Nightmares when it comes out in a few days!

Review: THE BANDS OF MOURNING by Brandon Sanderson

Rating: 5/5 stars

Even though I love this complex world and all these dynamic characters and the intricate magic system, and I wanted to read this book so badly, I struggled to pick it up. I kept procrastinating reading it for some reason, and I could focus only for a short amount of time before I had to put the book down and come back to it later.

I think this is partially my own fault and partially the book’s fault. If I had read The Bands of Mourning two years ago when I finished Shadows of Self, I think I would have been much more engaged in the story. (I did have to do about two hours of research into the world, the characters, and the three magic systems, including rereading the last three chapters of Shadows of Self, before starting this book so I would remember what was going on.) I cannot tell you why I waited two years to read this book, only that it happened and I wish it didn’t. Alas, here we are and that’s how it is.

Why I think the book is partially at fault is because of the general story. Being a western on top of an epic fantasy, I struggled with the book for that reason because I do not really care for westerns (this series excluded), and I’m still fairly new to epic fantasy. Plus, this book had about five separate main plot lines going on at the same time, not to mention the many minor plot lines happening in the background, and I think I was just very skeptical that everything would go well by the end.

Obviously, everything did end well and I had no reason to be worried. This is Brandon Sanderson we’re talking about, and he can do no wrong. I wish I didn’t struggle with the beginning of the book, but it did not lessen my enjoyment of the whole story (as you can see, I still gave this book five well-deserved stars).

I cannot stop thinking about the six pages when the crew gets to the hotel in New Seran because it is the absolute funniest and most entertaining part of the entire book. I read it twice and I could not stop laughing like a maniac at this scene because it was just that good.

Wayne is hilarious as usual, and it’s no surprise he’s the most interesting character in this series. Even though I think I like Wax more as a technicality, Wayne has the better personality. His chapters are always so entertaining, and his personality is so specific that I never know what to expect with him except that he’ll always come up with something clever to say.

I really like Marasi. I love that she makes use of her Allomantic ability in this book after feeling mostly useless in that regard. She’s really the brains of the group, and that might be why I’ve always liked her the best. However, that might be changing now. . . .

Steris really steps up her game in this book. Her character development blew me away, and I didn’t know I could like her this much. I love how she is always prepared for even the worst situations, and I think she’s become a great asset to the team. She’s funny in subtle ways. I love her banter with Wax, and I think they’re actually becoming close despite their arranged situation, which makes me very happy.

Wax is great in this book, as usual. His fight scenes are highly entertaining and I kept wondering how he was going to pull himself out of each next fight. I liked that we got to see some of his internal struggles as he tried to decide what pathway to pursue since there were about five things happening that each could have easily become their own plot line in their own book.

I don’t remember if MeLaan was a significant character in the previous books, but she was definitely pertinent to this one. She was just as funny as Wayne, which surprised me, and always lightened the situation with some Kandra humor. She’s a new favorite for sure.

I’m glad this book didn’t become convoluted with too much happening because after all the possibilities for main plot lines were established (around the 30% mark), I was worried that they were trying to do too much in too short a book and the ending would either be rushed or not everything would be resolved. Luckily, the book stuck to the one main storyline with a few side plot lines, which actually answered a lot of questions surrounding the other possible plot lines, so that worked out nicely. Leave it to Sanderson to accomplish something like that; no other author could introduce so many problems and ideas and quests and tie them up in the end so satisfactorily without leaving out important details.

The Bands of Mourning is the only Mistborn book I’ve reviewed so far (as I got into reviewing books after I had already read the rest of the series), but I do plan to go back and reread the first five books and review each of them at some point, although probably not for a few years. This is one of my favorite series of all time, and each of its books deserves a glowing review.

What I love most about this series is how unique and dynamic it is. There are not one, not two, but three magic systems in this world, each of which is unique to this series alone. I love the concept behind metal magic, and seeing all the ways Sanderson plays with that system is phenomenal. It is deep and advanced, and there are endless possibilities for what to do with Allomancy, Feruchemy, and Hemalurgy, especially when you start to mix them together.

Another reason I’m so in love with this series is how it blends genres so well. The first era of three books is no doubt an epic fantasy in a typical historical-type setting, but it’s not dense or difficult to understand at all. It’s a very approachable world with enjoyable characters. Then the second era is a western fantasy. I never thought I would read a western, but here we are, and I love this era (not as much as the original trilogy but it’s still quite good). It is so cool to see the world that we came to love now a few centuries into the future with new characters and new ways to use the same old magic systems to fit with modern technology. I love that the first era is like the origin story that is usually only told as background to the main story, but here it is the main story and then we get to see how it influences the future of the world. And era three, coming way in the future, will be a 1980s spy-thriller setting (according to Sanderson himself on his website). I love so much that he has taken this world and its magic systems and is placing them in vastly different time periods with different technologies, and then experimenting with it to see what it would be like to use Allomancy or Feruchemy in these differing settings.

This series has cemented Sanderson as one of my favorite authors of all time. I need to read everything else he wrote, and I am genuinely so excited to immerse myself in more of his insanely cool and intricate worlds. I also think I like him even more than I do other authors because I got to meet him and take the writing class he taught at my college. It’s crazy to see the behind-the-scenes of how an author’s mind works to create their stories. I’m so glad I discovered him and his books because they have made such a difference in my reading tastes and are some I know I’ll read again and again for the rest of my life.

Review: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee

Rating: 3/5 stars

I had to read this book for school in the fourth grade, and it was the only school-assigned reading that I never finished, believe it or not. I always read the assigned books in school because I’ve always loved reading, but I just hated this book so much that I could not bring myself to continue. (I think I reached about 30% before I gave up and watched the movie, which I also didn’t like.)

My life and views and understanding of the world have changed quite a bit in the last fourteen years since I first read this book at eight years old, so I wanted to give it another chance because it is such a beloved classic that I simply feel like I read too early in life.

I originally decided I wanted to reread To Kill a Mockingbird back when I read Beautiful Creatures and learned that Lena’s favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird and her dog’s name is Boo Radley (after finishing this book, I realized there are a ton of references to it in Beautiful Creatures that I had never noticed before). I liked Lena so much that I knew I needed to reread this book to know why it was her favorite. That’s probably a superficial reason but I don’t care because it was the reason that led me to not completely shun this book for the rest of my life. It has been nine years since I first read Beautiful Creatures, but at least I did finally pick up To Kill a Mockingbird again.

Let’s talk about the characters.

Miss Caroline is a deplorable teacher. She’s such a minor character that barely makes an appearance but she still frustrated me. What kind of teacher refuses to let her students excel when they are able? She won’t allow Scout to read or write in the first (and second) grade and gets angry that she already knows how to do so. Early literacy is something to celebrate! (And in today’s era, first grade isn’t even early to be reading or writing anymore.) I just have to remind myself that this book was written sixty years ago and leave it at that.

Atticus is a nice man and a good father, and I like the values he stands for, but he is a bit one-dimensional in this notion because his entire characterization is who he is from Scout’s point of view. He is the wise figure of the story and teaches Jem and Scout many lessons that any reader could benefit from. If only all men of this era could view equality the same way that Atticus does.

Scout is my favorite character. I like the innocence about her and how outspoken and determined she is.

Jem is another nice character who I totally forgot existed. I like that he is Scout’s friend and not just her brother, and that he protects her.

Dill is okay but I really only see him as a troublemaker. Did he really serve a purpose other than to be a random friend?

Boo Radley is kind of the central focus of the story, even though he’s really not. He’s an interesting character that you think you know everything about until he actually shows up at the end. I’m glad that Scout did eventually get to meet him.

I don’t have much to say about any of the other characters except that Bob Ewell got what he deserved and Tom Robinson deserved more than he got.

This story was eons more interesting now than I remember it being in the fourth grade. It might have helped that I listened to the audiobook this time, though. I actually don’t think I would’ve gotten through the book if it wasn’t for the audiobook because it made the slang and southern dialect much easier to digest. I am also glad that the narrator was enjoyable to listen to and didn’t have a heavy southern accent. I know that I would have had no desire to pick up this book and keep reading if it weren’t for the audio version.

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.”
I think this quote encapsulates a lot of what this book is about. There are a lot of valuable lessons and morals taught herein, and I think that’s why it’s such a beloved story.

Well, my rating increased from a 1.5 to a 3, so I’d say this was a worthwhile read that I’m glad I gave another chance to, but To Kill a Mockingbird still isn’t a book that I loved. I think my initial reading experience influenced my view of this book too much because when I think about this book I immediately think about how much I hated it when I was eight (and then how I spent fourteen years continually thinking it was a terrible book until now). While I don’t think it’s a terrible book anymore, I also don’t think it’s the best thing ever. I might reread it again one day in the very distant future, but it won’t ever become a beloved classic for me.

Side note: I have no desire to read Go Set a Watchman. That book is supposedly the early rough draft of To Kill a Mockingbird, not its sequel. It was written before To Kill a Mockingbird and supposedly couldn’t sell to a publisher initially. Lee found an editor to help her with the story, and they crafted it into what we know at To Kill a Mockingbird. I don’t want to read Go Set a Watchman because A) I wasn’t interested in the story enough to want to read more about the characters, B) I have no interest in reading an unedited rough draft of Mockingbird because I’ve already had enough of that story, C) I’m aware that the characterization of key characters is vastly different in Watchman than it is in Mockingbird, and I do not want my view of the characters to be tainted (I’ve heard that Atticus is very racist in Go Set a Watchman, but I’m struggling to see how that’s possible after everything he did in To Kill a Mockingbird. That seems very inconsistent to me.), and D) I’m fairly sure I wouldn’t like the book anyway, so reading it would only be a waste of my time.

Review: LORD OF SHADOWS by Cassandra Clare

Rating: 5/5 stars

The characters in Lord of Shadows are just so excellent. Every character has such a distinct, dynamic personality, and I really loved that. Julian might be my favorite, just because of how much he cares about his siblings and how he will go to any lengths to protect the people he loves.

Emma was great, too. She is turning out to be fierce just like Clary, but she still has her own voice. I liked watching her work to overcome struggle after struggle. Also, I love Emma’s obsession with chocolate that is prevalent throughout the book.

“We’ll have to get our energy the old-fashioned way.”
Mark looked puzzled. “Drugs?”
“Chocolate,” Emma said. “I brought chocolate. Mark, where do you even come up with these things?”

Kit was also excellent, and I’m glad to see him becoming more of a regular in this series and learning the ways of the Shadowhunters. I love his relationship with Tiberius, who is such a precious ray of sunshine. As I said in my review of Lady Midnight, I really enjoy seeing all of Julian’s siblings playing important roles in the story. I’m glad that Mark’s role got bigger in Lord of Shadows, too, because I love Mark. He is just different from the others, and I feel that he is the trustworthy friend that everyone needs.

What’s nice about Cassandra Clare’s books is that no matter how many points-of-view they’re told from (and this one had so many I lost count), it never feels confusing or overwhelming. Because the entire story is third-person POV and has such a large cast of characters, it feels natural to hear from so many of those characters. It keeps everyone’s story straight since there are a lot of things happening at the same time with different characters in different locations. It’s like in a movie when it switches between scenes of different people—that’s how this book (and all her books, really) felt, and I really enjoyed it. I will add, though, that I listened to this book on audio, so I don’t know if that influenced my ability to keep viewpoints straight or not.

Something else that’s neat about this series is how Clare subtly includes lots of diversity. I rather dislike when a person’s race or sexual orientation becomes who they are, and they seem to have no other defining traits aside from that, but that was not the case at all with any of the characters in this book. There was lots of representation, which was great to see, but no one made a big deal about it, which seemed very natural to me and added to the excellence of this story.

The ending of the book slayed me. So many questions left unanswered and details dangling in the air waiting for more information to come. I am so excited to read Queen of Air and Darkness later this year. This is one of the only times I can think of when I read a book and had to wait for the next book to be published. I very rarely start series that are not complete because I don’t want to lose interest in a story or forget what happened in previous books while I’m waiting for a new book, but after binge-reading The Mortal Instruments and some of The Infernal Devices, plus Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy, I only wanted more stories set in this world and decided to start Lady Midnight right away. I am so glad I did because now I have something to look forward to later this year. Lord of Shadows’s ending was utterly insane with many unexpected events happening, and I really want to know what happens next.

I realized when reading this book how cool it actually is that Clare keeps writing books in this world. If you think about any fantasy series, when the last book ends it’s not like there are never any problems or villains ever again and life goes back to being boring; no, there will always be more adventures to go on and enemies to fight. But, as readers, we are just supposed to imagine the future for the characters and infer what would happen after the end, even after a really good ending that wraps everything up. But what’s so awesome about all the Shadowhunter books is that we do get to see a future for the Mortal Instruments characters in the Dark Artifices series. Clary and Jace still show up even though only as cameos now, but it’s still neat to see what happened after the “happily ever after” at the end of City of Heavenly Fire. And even then, that secondary trilogy was what happened after City of Glass. I guess this is a rather obvious observation, but I never thought about it before and it makes me happy.

After eleven Shadowhunter books, I can say that Lord of Shadows was the best one yet. The plot was fast-paced and interesting, the characters were so realistic and experienced great development and relationships, and the overall writing was engaging enough throughout the 700-page tome that I never felt like the story was dragging. I honestly was so invested in the book that I didn’t stop reading to write my review (which I usually do in segments throughout a book) until it was over. Because of that, I do not have much to say as far as spoilers or specific details go, but just know this book was excellent. If you liked any of the books that take place in the Shadowhunter universe so far, I would highly recommend reading The Dark Artifices.