Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard Book Review

Goodreads Summary:

If there’s one thing Mare Barrow knows, it’s that she’s different.

Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control. 

The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.

Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors. 

But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat. 

Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

The electrifying next installment in the Red Queen series escalates the struggle between the growing rebel army and the blood-segregated world they’ve always known—and pits Mare against the darkness that has grown in her soul.

Review:

Wow.

We all know what happened in the first book, and that makes me really suspicious all the time. Throughout this book, I'm always questioning everything.

'Anyone can betray anyone.'

That sticks with me while I'm reading this book.

There are a lot of epic actions. The recruitment scenes are the ones I really like, for some reason. Kind of reminds me of X-Men: First Class movie. It's also fun to discover new abilities and powers from the Newbloods. It took me a week to finish this book, because some parts, though not many, are very slow and there were times when I feel like I'm tired of reading it, which is weird because whenever I'm reading a really great book no matter how long it is, I could never put them down. It's a bummer that I feel that way for this book.

Of course, this book has a great amount of shock factors like the first book. There is one part in the book that I hate. I hate with all my life. I hate with all my might. I don't want to spoil anything, but watch out for a certain death. This death involves one of my favorite character, so I cried when it happened.

I don't feel like talking about the relationship between Mare and Cal or Mare and Maven, because I feel like I have to get into it more before making any judgements. But I know for sure that I love Cal, and I still don't know what to feel for Maven.

THAT ENDING THOUGH.

THAT.

ENDING.

I'm giving this book a 4.5/5 stars. A promising sequel to an on-going series, I can't wait to read the third book in the series!

February Wrap Up

I'm very happy with myself right now.

Last year was a hard year for me, and I wasn't always in the mood to read. I wanted to do everything but read, which is absurd and so not like me. I didn't even complete my Goodreads 2016 Reading Challenge. Embarrassing! But this year I want to redeem myself and read more books, because reading is something I love and I do best. I'm not going to fail on this matter.

I admit, I didn't finish any book throughout January. I was busy with finals, so I had almost no spare time let alone a time to read, and I like to invest my emotions to the books I'm reading. Though I'm happy to say, in the month of February, I've read 7 books! Pop the confetti, this is an achievement worth celebrating!

I'm happy to tell you that the books I've read so far are books that I enjoyed, some of those piles are books that I love very much. You can see the reviews of those books on another post, which I will link for you:


Storm and Silence (read through Wattpad)

In The Eye of The Storm (read through Wattpad)

Legend

Critical Eleven

Before I Fall

Everything, Everything

Red Queen


I'm so happy with myself this month (re: February). I hope I won't have any more reading slumps, because I'm missing a lot of good books that I probably should've read through that time period.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard Book Review

Goodreads Summary:

This is a world divided by blood - red or silver.

The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.

That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.

Fearful of Mare's potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.

But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance - Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart...

Review:

Wow, oh wow.

When I first read this book, I had a hard time getting through it. It took me two months to finish this book the first time, but now I got a chance to re-read this again and it only took me two days. I admit, this book is kind of hard to follow at first. The world this book sets in is a little bit complicated and complex, and I didn't really pay attention to it the first time. But after reading it again, I LOVED IT. My initial thought was that this universe and the world of this book is underdeveloped, but then I learned that I'll know more on the second book, which I can't wait to read. With all of those being said, I can't help loving the world of Red Queen. The Silver's ability is amazing and I'm amazed by it. This book has an amazing concept and it's also unique on its own way.

I love a book that can make me feel thousands of emotions, especially towards the character. I love Mare, because of her fierceness and her ability, which to me is VERY COOL. I also love Cal, sweet, sweet Cal. Maybe it's just me that is fascinated with princes and guys with power but handling it with compassion, but I LOVE CAL SO MUCH! Gosh. There are characters in the book that I really love to hate, and I love to hate this character because of his betrayal. Speaking of betrayal, THAT PLOT TWIST THOUGH! I love the shock factor that this book has. I know what will happen at the end of the book (because it's my second time reading it), but this book still got me SHOOK. The plot twist just blows my mind completely.

There is a little bit of love triangle happening on this book, but I absolutely love that the love triangle thing isn't a major problem in this. I love that it's there, because it just adds more drama, but it's not overpowering and it doesn't conceal the main problem on the book like other books I've read.

I give this book a 4.5/5 stars. I wanted to give this book a 5 stars, but even after reading it the second time, I still kind of struggled to understand some parts of the book. There are also parts of the book that reminds me of other books, but I didn't really mind it. So, I think 4.5/5 stars is a good enough rating, and I hope that the second book will be great! I can't wait to read it.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon Book Review

Goodreads Summary:

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

Review:

I literally devoured this book. I stopped reading on page 22, because I have to go to sleep. When I woke up this morning, I immediately started to pick this book up again and read. I can very much say I like this book very much.

The story is really unique. I also liked the plot, which was very unpredictable. I still can't believe with everything that happened to the main character, Madeline. This book is really fast-paced in my opinion, and with that being said, I think this book lacks of resolution and problem solving. With everything that happened--the big thing that happened--I was hoping that there will be more to tell, so that I can understand why everything happened the way it did. I was hoping that the ending would tell me more about what happens to Madeline. So basically, I wasn't satisfied with the ending.

Relationship wise, it was very cute. I liked Olly instantly, but this was also very rushed. I feel like I didn't learn much about him. Sure, I like him, but I feel like there is nothing that can make me fall in love with the character. Usually with type of books like this, I want to be able to fall in love with the love interest of the main character, but I don't get that on this book. Though the romance of this book is heartwarming, and I still like it, despite everything. But I'm sure I don't love it.

I also love the illustrations on this book, makes it really cool to read. Nicola Yoon's writing is very enjoyable and I love her writing style as well. I will be sure to get another book of hers in the future!

Overall, I'm giving this book a 4.5/5 stars. It's a pretty book, and if you're looking for a quick, heartwarming read, this will be great for you!

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver Book Review

Goodreads Summary:

For popular high school senior Samantha Kingston, February 12—"Cupid Day"—should be one big party, a day of valentines and roses and the privileges that come with being at the top of the social pyramid. And it is…until she dies in a terrible accident that night.

However, she still wakes up the next morning. In fact, Sam lives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she ever imagined.

Review:

I decided to re-read this book because there is going to be a movie adaptation. I read this book a long time ago, so I kind of forgot some parts of this book. I want to refresh my memory before watching the movie.

I like the story. I already liked it the first time I read it, but I had a hard time finishing this book the first time I read it. I was hoping that I won't be feeling the same, now that I'm older, but it just kind of happened again. Some parts of the story is really tiring for me. There are books that I just can't put down, and this book isn't one of them. Sometimes I got bored and all I wanted to do was put the book down. But with that being said, I still like this book.

I like how sensitive this story is. I like the main character's development. Sam's realization that to solve the issue, she has to make a change in her life. That everything that happens to her is based on everybody else, too. It's really deep and I can see why this can be someone's favorite book.

The last time I rated this book, I gave it a 4 stars. But I think that's just too generous, haha, so I'm going to give this book a 3.5/5 stars! This isn't my favorite book, but I would recommend this book for everyone to read. And I can't wait to watch the movie, I hope it'll be great!

Critical Eleven by Ika Natassa Book Review

I picked this book up because the movie adaptation for this book is in process. And I like the cast. My friends liked this book, so I thought why not give it a try? 

I've known about this book for a while now, even before the rumor about the movie came around. I've thought about picking this book up before, because I've heard numerous of people liking this book, but I never got around to do it. But when I saw the review on Goodreads, I became...hesitant. This book got mixed reviews. I see a lot of 5 stars, but I also see a lot of two stars. I saw people's reviews saying that they can't finish it, they have to put it down and never pick it back up, and that they have to skip a few parts because they just couldn't't take it. I'm the type of person that sometimes can get carried away by what people say about a book, but in this case, I'm not.

This book gives me Colleen Hoover vibe. Though, this book is not as good as Colleen's, but it's good enough to be a good book. I think this book reminds me of It Ends With Us by Colleen, but without the huge problem that's going on on that book. This book also reminds me of Ugly Love, it reminds me of a certain complication, but this book doesn't surpass that for sure.

But this book is really good, to be honest. I love the two POVs thing, and I said this on another review, because with two POVs I sunk deep into the story even better, especially with the matter that is talked about on the book. I like a book that makes me learn, a book that gives me more knowledge, this book has it, and at times a little bit too much knowledge. There are parts of the book that talk about something that completely doesn't have to be on there. Like there are a lot of parables on that book, for example, the things that Ale's father talked about. It's a good idea, but then after reading it, it got me thinking "so....what's the connection?". Maybe I'm not smart enough to understand, or don't know much to know what he's talking about, but I don't know. I think that's why I give this book 4 stars rather than 5.

I also don't like the ending. I feel like there's no closure whatsoever. It feels like it hangs. I want to read about how they talk about things, how they compromise, how they finally reconcile. And I didn't see that on the book. Nevertheless, I still liked it. And this is also the first Indonesian book that I've read in a long time. I can't remember what's the last Indonesian book I read, maybe because they don't matter that much to me. But this book is good, and I liked it.

4/5 stars!

Legend by Marie Lu Book Review

I hate that I'm late for the hype of Legend. I've always known that this book is great, because of the reviews and people's talk, but I'm glad that I finally do read it and I must say I LOVE it! I love how the books that I'm reading at the beginning of the year are books that I end up loving, and I hope this series would be my favorite series yet.

This book is fast-paced. It has a great story line and amazing plot, and I love how this book makes me go "woah, that's smart!". I also love the two POVs that's going on in this book. It kind of gives me more insight of what's actually going on, and makes it easier to follow. This is the first dystopian book I've read in a while, I think, and I was just about to put a little rest on reading dystopian books, because I want to read more contemporary. But this book makes me not want to stop reading dystopian books and makes me want to read more, because I used to love to read dystopian books so much!

As for the characters, I love them. Maybe the reason why is because they are both smart, and I'm a sucker for smart characters. Like I said, this book is fast-paced, but somehow getting to know the character isn't that hard. I also love how the relationship between the two characters goes, and how easily they got connected.

The ending though, it was a little bit heartbreaking for me. I was crying my eyes out somehow, maybe because I was just being too emotional, but it's so sad for me! Maybe others have it different, but the last part of the book hits me really hard!

I'm giving this book a straight out 5/5 stars! I can't wait to read the next book in the trilogy, and I hope I will love it as much as this one.