I just want to start off this review by saying thank you to the author for giving Hartley a backbone!
[image]
At first I was a little bit skeptical, bI just want to start off this review by saying thank you to the author for giving Hartley a backbone!
[image]
At first I was a little bit skeptical, because Hartley was going through some major denial. She was making up really bad excuses for what her boyfriend, Josh Dupont, could have been doing with a condom wrapper in his gym locker… like he was doing a project with Courtney about sexual education and that’s why he had the condom wrapper.
[image]
However, she later came to her senses and realized that Josh was just a cheating jerk, and then she actually did something about it. Which is refreshing, because a lot of times when a guy cheats on a girl, especially in these kinds of books, the girl doesn’t dump him! They suffer from what I call Being-A-Little-Wimp Disease. They just let the mean and semi-abusive guy manipulate them. It’s just completely ridiculous to me. Have some respect for yourself girls! You’re worth more than that. Hartley however, doesn’t put up with it. Actually the time she confronts him is one of my favorite scenes in the book. She yells at him, hits him, and tells him where he can shove his lame apology. She also threatens his family jewels, if you know what I mean, in a way that made made me both laugh and cringe.
[image]
Yep a little bit like that. Run like the wind, Josh! Like the freaking wind. Speaking of Josh Dipstick Dupont, he is a total jackass. He never deserved Hartley in the first place, and he needs to just... leave.
[image]
Chase, on the other hand, was the complete opposite of Josh. He was my favorite part of the book. He didn’t get really possessive over Hartley, watch her sleep, break into her house, or stalk her in any way. Instead, Gemma Halliday found ways to show that Chase cares about Hartley, without having him actually break any laws. Can you believe it? It’s refreshing to see a healthy relationship in a YA book, because they are hard to come by.
However, there was some major slut shaming in this book.
[image]
Thankfully not by Hartley, but it still bothered me. There is this group called the “Color Guard”, which is basically cheerleaders who pledge abstinence, and I have no problem with that. If you want to pledge abstinence I think that’s great, good for you! But don’t act like you are better than someone who doesn’t make the same choice (view spoiler)[and certainly don’t kill someone for it… crazy bitch (hide spoiler)].
I have to admit, though, the end caught me by surprise. Maybe it shouldn't have, but I didn’t really predict who the killer was. I mean it was all building up and building up to this climax and then it was just like... this:
[image]
Anyways, despite it’s minor flaws, this was a truly fantastic book. It had an interesting premise and it was filled with witty banter. If you are looking for something fun to read, definitely give this book a try.
I was a little skeptical about this book in the beginning. I mean lets break down the actual plot of Cinderella, shall we? 1. The prince falls in love I was a little skeptical about this book in the beginning. I mean lets break down the actual plot of Cinderella, shall we? 1. The prince falls in love with Cinderella just by looking at her (Prince is superficial) 2. Cinderella literally runs away from the Prince and yet he still tries to find her (Prince can’t take a hint) 3. The Prince apparently can’t remember what Cinderella looks like, so he uses her shoe to find her (Prince is drunk?) 4. Prince eventually finds Cinderella using her shoe size (no comment) and he marries her on the spot (Prince is actually just stupid)
[image]
Thankfully, Marissa Meyer altered this book so that it took the best parts of Cinderella and combined it with a spoonful of AWESOME. Needless to say, I loved Cinder! I’m talking about both the book and the girl here by the way. But I’ll start with the book. It was crazy-pants… but in a good way. I have never read a book like this. I mean a cyborg-Cinderella? Yes paleeeeassseeee!!!!
[image]
Now for the characters. Cinder, now talking about the person, is pretty darn amazing. When she was little she was in a hovercraft accident, and had to become a cyborg to survive. From there she was adopted by a man who, on the same trip, died from the plague. Yep, you heard me, the plague. Could this book get anymore interesting? Well from there she lives with her step mother and step sisters and has to become a mechanic to pay for their bills, so yes, it can get more interesting. I mean a female mechanic? Awesome.
[image]
As for her love interest… he’s just the best. I was a little worried that it would be insta-love between Cinder and Kai, because of what actually happened in Cinderella, but it wasn’t!
[image]
Cinder and Kai actually got to know each other really well before the ball (actually dancing ball, not Sandra Bullock’s ball dance), and it was so adorable (again, Kai and Cinder’s relationship, not Sandra’s sweaty balls). Their conversations were witty and funny, but seriously I wanted to take Cinder by the shoulders and shake her whenever she turned down Kai’s invitation to the ball. But hey, if she won’t go I’d be happy to take her place, because Kai is PERFECT!
[image]
Alright calm down there, Sandra Bullock, there were some sad parts to the book too. Actually for like half of the book I was in some kind of emotional turmoil. (view spoiler)[Especially with Peony… we finally have a evil nice stepsister, and then she dies from the plague. Why do you hate me universe?!??!?!?! *sobs uncontrollably* (hide spoiler)]
Now Cinder’s “family”:
First we have Peony, the evil stepsister who-wait a minute-isn’t evil? Can it be? Yes, apparently it can! I really loved Peony, and I’m glad Cinder had her there with her. She was the best evil stepsister Cinder could have had, and I really respected her.
Then there was Andri and Pearl, Cinder’s actually evil stepmother and stepsister. They are so horrible to her that it made me want to cry and maybe punch something (like Andri’s face). And they never felt any kind of guilt or remorse about it!
[image]
If I was Cinder, I would have curled up into the fetal position, rolled into a hole, and died a long time ago. However Cinder, unlike me, is not a coward. She is a super strong-willed and easily likable character who should be given some kind of prize for putting up with those materialistic trolls she calls her step family (except Peony, she’s cool).
And finally, there’s Queen Levana...
[image]
You can tell how evil she is just by the name, really. Anyways, she is an evil hag and I hate her. Enough said.
[image]
Yes, Queen Levana was horrible, but that is what made her such a good villain. As for the ending, I saw it coming, but that didn’t take away from how good this book was. It was absolutely 100% awesome. So why are you still here? A female cyborg, a swoon-worthy prince, and an adorable sidekick robot named Iko are waiting for you.
Half Blood takes place in a school called the Covenant. This is a school for two races, the half-bloods are the pures. The pures are created either byHalf Blood takes place in a school called the Covenant. This is a school for two races, the half-bloods are the pures. The pures are created either by a god and a mortal or by two pures. Half bloods are made by a pure and a mortal. As their name suggests, they have half of the pure blood. Greek mythology whoop whoop!
[image]
Don’t worry it’s not as lame as it sounds.
Half bloods are considered to be less important than the pure bloods. They are never allowed to have children and they can choose to either become a Sentinel, where they would spend their entire life guarding the pures, or to become a servant for the pures. So basically, either way it goes, their life sucks.
[image]
Our protagonist, Alex, unfortunately for her, is a half blood. Alex isn’t the usual, damsel in distress/wait for the guy to save you, kind of girl. She is independent, impulsive, and actually kind of violent, especially when someone talks bad about someone she loves. Then she turns into some kind of hyped up were-beast.
[image]
Only she’s not sorry, and most of the time I don’t blame her. This is really her only flaw. She isn’t very sensitive and doesn’t really care about other people’s feelings most of the time, she doesn’t really have time to.
[image]
Aiden-
[image]
I just couldn’t resist the Hercules gif. Anyways, he obviously cares about Alex a lot, but he’s not allowed to, for our precious, beautiful Aiden is a pure blood. You know forbidden love and all that. However, he doesn’t need to tell Alex that he loves her for us to know that he does.
[image]
Then there’s Seth, who claims that he just wants to get to know Alex and doesn’t know about the bond.
[image]
That little shit is up to no good. I just know it...
At the Covenant, there are a lot of parties. The kids are sometimes irresponsible and don’t really grasp the severity of their situation, Alex included.
[image]
But this is just a side effect of the half bloods having their whole life planned out for them. They know when they graduate they will be forced into a life that they might not want, and they are lashing out. This would be okay, only that Alex does it too, even when she knows that she has a more important future ahead of her. She has a “destiny”.
All that aside, I ended up really loving this book. Jennifer L. Armentrout is such a talented author, and her writing makes you unable to stop reading.
The only reason I’m not giving this book 5 stars is because it is very similar to the Vampire Academy. Almost… too similar.
[image]
But I don’t really mind it that much...
[image]
Also because while it has similarities to Vampire Academy there are definitely some original ideas, and I think it will go in a completely different direction in the next book.
I am happy to say that I liked this book a lot more than I thought I would. It started out a little bit slow, and at first I was kind of bored. And thI am happy to say that I liked this book a lot more than I thought I would. It started out a little bit slow, and at first I was kind of bored. And then, all of a sudden, things got interesting.
[image]
And let me tell you, I am so glad that I kept reading. This book just kept getting better and better with every chapter. Let me just say this right now: if you are into paranormal stuff, drop whatever you are doing and read this book right now! Doesn’t even matter if you are into vampires, werewolves, faeries, trolls, mohiri, because this book has it all! If you are concerned about having too many things going on with all of these different species, don’t be. Karen Lynch does an excellent job of organizing this book so that it never feels jumbled or confusing.
Alright now the characters. Sara turned out to be a really great mc. She is the kind of girl who punches first and asks questions later, and I love that. She doesn’t let anybody push her around or tell her what to do.
[image]
However, she also has a soft side. She has the power to heal, and she does some really great things with it. She heals any injured animals that she comes across, and she really does have a big heart.
Yes, Sara is awesome, but she does have some faults too. Her biggest one is that she always wants to do things by herself. Don’t get me wrong, I love the independence, but sometimes it was too much. Sometimes it was just stupid. She needs to learn that it is okay to accept help once in a while, especially when her life depends on it.
However, despite my complaining, I didn’t actually mind it that much. She made some mistakes, but that just makes her human (although I guess she isn't technically human), and her faults actually made her more relatable to me. Plus, I knew that she always had good intentions.
Now my favorite part of the book: Nikolas. I love that guy. So. Much. He is controlling and bossy at times, but he always has Sara’s best interest in mind. His concern for Sara was really sweet, even if he did overreact a lot.
[image]
Yes you do, but I still love you.
Sara and Nikolas’ relationship was really cute. It definitely wasn’t insta-love with them (yay), but you can see their relationship strengthen over time. They were an interesting combo, because Sara was completely independent and never wanted help when Nikolas was obligated to help her. It was definitely interesting, and entertaining, to watch.
[image]
This book was interesting and sweet and it really brought something new to the table. I can promise you seven things if you read this book:
1. You will easily fall in love with the characters and will be interested in their lives. 2. You won’t be able to stop reading. 3. The only thing you will eat is the bag of cheetos beside your bed, because you won’t even want to put the book down for two minutes to get something real to eat. 4. You will get cheese stains all over your book/kindle. 5. You will finish this book at three in the morning only to say “screw sleep, reading the next book is more important”. 6. The next day you will regret both staying up all night and eating the entire bag of cheetos. 7. And finally, if you’re not crazy, you will absolutely love this book.
Loading...
