Author: Zaheerah

A twenty-something reader. Slowly making her way through the endless pit that is her TBR pile.
Books, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Young Adult/ Teen

Book Review: The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

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Book Review: The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)

I received an ARC of each book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Set in the fictional world of Orléans, a small number of girls are born with the ability to use magic to create beautiful looks for a dull general population. Camellia and her sister, known as the Belles, have trained their entire lives to be chosen as the Queen’s favourite and responsible for keeping the royal family beautiful.

The world of Orléans is beautiful, a decadent society with a darker history. Everyone is born grey, and it’s the role of the Belles to bring beauty, but it comes with a price. This book is jam-packed with sweet descriptions of a seemly beautiful world until the ugliness leaks out as the story goes on. Clayton’s Orléans is unique and thrilling; while it took a while for it to grip me at first, the ending is where it gets horrific and exciting. A fantasy world means there’s a lot to set up, but once the significant event starts happening, the pace improved.

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Books, Other, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Young Adult/ Teen

Book Review: Replica

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Book Review: Replica

Rating: ★★✩✩✩ (2/5)

[So I actually wrote this review back in November, but for some reason, I lost it in my drafts and forgot to publish it]

Replica follows the lives of two seemingly different girls – Lyra, a test subject locked away in a research facility, and Gemma, a lonely teen whose investigation in her family’s past leads to her meeting Lyra and slowly unravelling the truth behind her family.

I tried, really tried, to read and enjoy this. I truly did. Its plot and concept from the outside scream a perfect read for me. Especially with the creative layout, the book can be read from one POV or alternative. I set myself up to read an excellent book, but it just didn’t grab my attention.

You get the impression of an exciting sci-fi novel, but it’s just a very cheesy YA romance with a sci-fi tint. It starts off interesting (I read the chapters alternatively), watching the lives of these two girls and how they differ but you can guess what happens. Nothing is surprising because it’s been done so many times and Oliver doesn’t add anything that makes it stand out, aside from reading format.

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Books, Lifestyle, Monthly Rewind

Monthly Rewind: January 2018

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Perhaps it’s weird that I can still have a wrap-up without blogging all that much, but I kept a promise to myself to blog more often, even if it means I’m rambling a lot. Despite my inactive first month, I’ve been reading a bit more – not the amount I used to read, but it’s enough to feel like I’m getting back on track.

L I F E

  • New Year’s Resolution | I actually set myself proper new resolutions which I intend to stick to. TLDR: Blog more frequently, read more, improve Bengali and do booktube.
  • Finish the first semester at university | because my timetable meant I only came in two days a week, it didn’t really feel like going to university, if that makes any sense. Luckily for me, my timetable for the second semester is a bit better, and I can plan work and other stuff around it more efficiently.
  • I also remade my Muslims in YA list. The previous one was two years old and severely outdated. You can now find it here (still a work in progress though!!)

B O O K S

monthlyrewind_jan18

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Books, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Young Adult/ Teen

Book Review: Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings

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Book Review: Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings

my rating: ★★☆☆☆

* I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This in no way affected my opinion of the book.

Can I just say how I love that ‘fike’ was just completely removed from the novel entirely?

I am pretty sure that I said in my review of the first part that I wasn’t going to read this once the book came out. I didn’t request the full version so I could bash it, I wanted to go back into this with the belief it could be better. I felt low key guilty of how harsh I was on the snippet, and now that it’s the full story that has been edited so I thought, how bad can it be now? And it is bad. Which is so disappointing because it has a strong concept and inkling of a decent plot which flopped really severely.

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Books, General Fiction, LGBTQIA, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Thrillers, Young Adult/ Teen

Backlog reviews #1

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These are all reviews of books I had received during my semi-hiatus but I found it too late or not enough time to post a full review of them. (excluding WITCH because I’m not good at reviewing poetry so I kept it short and placed it in here)

I received an ARC of each book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The witch doesn’t burn in this one, Amanda Lovelace | a witchy poetry sequel – ★ ★ ★ – WITCH is the sequel to PRINCESS. It’s short, a little repetitive in my opinion, but very good. Although I’m no longer a fan of this poetry style and though I enjoyed the first collection more, WITCH is a decent second instalment with a newer empowering selection of poetry.

27 hours, Tristina Wright | distant sci-fi adventure where a group of teens have only hours to save their home – ★ ★ ★ – I’m quite in the middle with this book. There were select moments which were quite thrilling but then I found myself quite bored a lot of the time, especially with its world-building. Aimal says it much better than I could ever about its colonialism issue. (Also, I suggest you follow her – her blog is great) I don’t intend to read its sequel but its cliff-hanger ending that peaked my interest – will depend on future reviews of the sequel.

Love, hate and other filters, Samira Ahmed | an aspiring filmmaker faces conflicting choices in the face of a terror attack – ★ ★ ★ – An interesting read, I enjoyed the focus on her conflicting identity as Maya deals with family, education and her future. There’s important dialogue within the story, the romance is really cute but the plot didn’t grip me as much as I thought it would.

I Am Thunder, Mohammad Khan | A story of a young teen being pulled into extremism. – ★ ★ – The overall plot and concept were great. You witness how Muzna is swept along unknowingly into a dangerous lifestyle through manipulation and grooming. I just didn’t enjoy the character voice and the pacing was a bit off.

God, Reza Aslan | a human look of the account of God – ★ ★ ★ – Aslan studies the human development between of the relationship between God and man and it’s very fascinating. A non-scientific approach with an interesting analysis that actually made me want to learn more. I hope I find the chance to read on this later.

giveaways

[CLOSED] Twitter giveaway of Love, Hate & Other Filters

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Hello! I’m currently holding a Twitter giveaway of Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed! Here’s the link!

Rules

  • Follow and RT
  • Ends January 15th @ 6 PM GMT
  • INTERNATIONAL IF BOOK DEPOSITORY SHIPS TO YOU
  • Please be comfortable with giving me your email/ home address. (the email address is so I can forward you a copy of the purchase receipt)

Book description from Goodreads

A searing #OwnVoices coming-of-age debut in which an Indian-American Muslim teen confronts Islamophobia and a reality she can neither explain nor escape–perfect for fans of Angie Thomas, Jacqueline Woodson, and Adam Silvera.

American-born seventeen-year-old Maya Aziz is torn between worlds. There’s the proper one her parents expect for their good Indian daughter: attending a college close to their suburban Chicago home, and being paired off with an older Muslim boy her mom deems “suitable.” And then there is the world of her dreams: going to film school and living in New York City—and maybe (just maybe) pursuing a boy she’s known from afar since grade school, a boy who’s finally falling into her orbit at school.

There’s also the real world, beyond Maya’s control. In the aftermath of a horrific crime perpetrated hundreds of miles away, her life is turned upside down. The community she’s known since birth becomes unrecognizable; neighbors and classmates alike are consumed with fear, bigotry, and hatred. Ultimately, Maya must find the strength within to determine where she truly belongs.