Category: Books

A category for all things bookish on my site!

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

BOOK REVIEW: Doon by Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon

by ZaheerahLeave a Comment on BOOK REVIEW: Doon by Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon

you can find the book at:

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goodreads summary:

Veronica doesn’t think she’s going crazy. But why can’t anyone else see the mysterious blond boy who keeps popping up wherever she goes? When her best friend, Mackenna, invites her to spend the summer in Scotland, Veronica jumps at the opportunity to leave her complicated life behind for a few months.

But the Scottish countryside holds other plans.

They find themselves transported to a land that defies explanation. Doon seems like a real-life fairy tale, complete with one prince who has eyes for Mackenna and another who looks suspiciously like the boy from Veronica’s daydreams. But Doon has a dark underbelly as well. The two girls could have everything they’ve longed for…or they could end up breaking an enchantment and find themselves trapped in a world that has become a nightmare.

my review:

Rating: ★★★☆☆

I started reading this book because I felt like it promised originality. However, originality doesn’t equal a good story. The setting is unusual, but it just doesn’t make sense, and you often find yourself rolling your eyes so much that they might as well just stay in the back of your head.

Doon, the magical land in which Veronica (no, sorry, Verranica as said by Jamie MacCrae, but he’s for another paragraph) and her best friend MacKenna end up in is literally one big mess. I initially thought it was Scotland of the past, but it’s literally one big contradiction, a mashup of the modern world with the mindset of the past world. People have been travelling to Doon throughout history, from our world to theirs through a magical bridge every so often. As a result, Doon has modern conventions such as toilets, showers and as well as sushi and pizzerias. Despite the fact that they’ve come in contact with contemporary society, the people of Doon still firmly believe in their past life, with their mindset firmly ingrained with their previous views and are still willing to burn witches at stakes. The setting is a mess and was difficult to understand with its different behaviours and severe lack of sense. I would like the background to make sense and for its people to follow guidelines of reasonable practices.

Now let’s begin with the characters:

Veronica: (see also Verranica )
She’s the dictionary definition of innocent. She’s beautiful (as said by MacKenna like ten million times), without even knowing it. She’s a hopeless romantic despite having the worst life possible. She’s a walking tragedy and is so irritating. She swoons over Jamie’s eyes and his locks of hair that ALWAYS seems to fall over his eyes. Despite, him completely ignoring her and being outright hostile the second he meets her, she cannot help but be upset in her attraction to him. Her soulmate! She later gives him up, only to start moaning about it five seconds later. ¬-¬ She is wholly devoted to boy Jamie, regardless of how much he acts like an idiot and how much he professes to hate her.

Mackenna: Vee’s best friend since infancy, it seems. Naturally, they are polar opposites. Mackenna is the practical musical-addicted who doesn’t realise how beautiful she is. (I see a running pattern here). She is meant to be humorous, a stark contrast to Vee’s impracticality…it didn’t work for me. She comes off as more annoying than entertaining. However, the development of her and Jamie’s brother, Duncan, was much more believable.

James MacCrae:
From the second Veronica and Mackenna enters his foreign land, where he is the crown prince, and despite this being Scotland, he still looks like an emo boy. Despite knowing that he is Veronica’s Calling, (a commonly acknowledged moment in Doon to mean you’ve met your soulmate), Jamie denies it, and continue treating Vee like crap. He tells her one thing, says another. He says words intended to turn her away and is absolutely angry (and blames her) when she does run away.

Duncan MacCrae: I actually liked him a lot out of all the characters. He was so kind compared to the rest of them in this book that I really have nothing wrong to say about him at all. He just wants to protect his home, and his romance with MacKenna is somewhat understandable. Their characters interact well together, and so I can see them falling for each other.

The secondary characters were unoriginal, lacking in any complexity. Everyone is black or white. There is no complexity within any of the main characters, and much less with the secondary. The plot shows no sense of urgency to the imminent danger that the land of Doon is in. Apart from villagers disappearing, a few dead bodies thrown in, there is no intrigue, no feeling that something terrible is going to happen.

Reading the sequel is nowhere near the forefront of my mind right now, but that ending had me shocked! Maybe I’ll pick it up, but that’s a maybe.

Books, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/ Teen

BOOK REVIEW: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

by Zaheerah1 Comment on BOOK REVIEW: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

you can find the book at:

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goodreads summary:

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

my review:

Rating:
★★☆☆☆

(This review is a reposted one from my old GoodReads Account but my opinion on this book has changed making it a 2 instead of a 5 )

My initial reactions to this book were pretty similar to the rest of Green’s fans. I enjoyed the story and characters, and it was an exciting read in the end. I liked how it was about coming to terms with the fact that your life will almost never rise above insignificance. However, three years have passed since I first read TFIOS and my view on the book has changed considerably. TFIOS isn’t a bad book, but it’s standard and very similar to the other works of Green. And I understand why so many readers would have had such an emotional response to the book. Books about death are often upsetting & thought to provoke- looking back on this, I didn’t find it either.

I don’t believe in Hazel and Augustus the same way anymore. Their dialogue is contrived and ridiculous. Augustus was just created to spew a plethora of metaphors.And there’s the other problem I have with Augustus and Hazel: their romance feels like a plot construction far more than it feels like a real passion. In Green’s other books, although I didn’t enjoy them, I understood the romance. Augustus Waters just shows up in Hazel’s cancer support group and stares at her, and she just swoons at him. That’s almost as bad as Bella Swan falling in love with Edward Cullen even though he apparently hates her. Green attempts to play it cool by having Hazel recognise that she’d be creeped out if it were an ugly guy staring at her, but that doesn’t make their love affair any less sudden, but the plot won’t work if they aren’t in love, so it happens.

Also, Hazel is not a believable character, we learn nothing about her. She just hates Support Group and loves Augustus for reasons that were never adequately announced throughout the book. The idea that he spends money just so he can act out a metaphor that doesn’t do anything but make him look like a pretentious idiot.

But the strength of The Fault in Our Stars is that it refuses to offer false comfort regarding a subject matter that we all know doesn’t have a happy ending. We are all going to die, but we live our lives pretending that words like “forever” or “always” have meant something to us. Maybe that’s why it worked so well with so many readers, it did for me at first.

I guess this book would have been better for me to read if it had been about what happened to Peter Van Houten and his life in Amsterdam with Hazel and Gus coming to see him or Hazel with her actual terminal cancer. It would have been better to read Hazel’s cancer to conflict with her ability to be with Gus, rather than give her a weird miracle drug.

And that’s why The Fault in Our Stars no longer impacts me as much as it did the first time reading it.

Books, Short stories

BOOK REVIEW: Killing the Dead By Marcus Sedgwick

by ZaheerahLeave a Comment on BOOK REVIEW: Killing the Dead By Marcus Sedgwick

You Can Find the Book At:

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Amazon
Author Website

GoodReads Summary:

Set in a girls’ boarding school in Massachusetts a haunting and sinister story YA story for World Book Day from prize-winning author Marcus Sedgwick. 1963.

Foxgrove School near Stockbridge, Massachusetts. One of the oldest and finest academies in the country – but what really goes on behind closed doors?

Nathaniel Drake, the new young English teacher, Isobel Milewski, the quiet girl who loved to draw spirals, her fingers stained with green ink, Jack Lewis, who lent Isobel books – just words, just ink on paper, Margot Leya, the girl with those eyes – who are they, what part have they played in killing the dead?

Follow the dark, dark path Into the dark, dark woods To the dark, dark bridge. By the dark, dark water. Linger. Let the ghosts of heaven tell their story.

A stylish and creepy story for World Book Day from prize-winning author Marcus Sedgwick.

My Review:

Rating: ★★★★☆

Set in girls boarding school, Killing the Dead is a sinister YA story released for World Book Day 2015.

It is an enjoyable read – one that throws in a little paranormal atmosphere.Sedgwick managed to fit such an enthralling cast of characters into such a short book, bringing to life the private school for girls well for a limited word count and it was pleasing to read. The story begins with just one view and then as the story progresses, more and more points of view are explored so you could not guess what the climax of the story was going to be. The way in which information was revealed reflects one of the main themes of the story – spirals. However, I did guess that Margot had something to do with it. (Why would a ghost haunt you unless you’ve done something to piss it off?)

However, I feel as though I still didn’t understand some parts of it. There were individual mysterious sections that felt too vague, to the point where I didn’t know what was supposed to be happening and had to re-read that part. Overall, I did enjoy the book. It’s quick and easy, and a good creepy story from Marcus Sedgwick. I might look into his other books. 🙂

Books, Contemporary

BOOK REVIEW: Carter Reed By Tijan (SPOILERS WITHIN REVIEW)

by Zaheerah1 Comment on BOOK REVIEW: Carter Reed By Tijan (SPOILERS WITHIN REVIEW)

You Can Find the Book At:

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GoodReads Summary:

Emma decided to skip the gym and went home early. It was the last easy decision she made because she found her roommate being raped by her boyfriend.

She had two choices. Call the cops and be killed by his family’s mafia connections or kill him first and hope to survive. There was no choice to her.

She killed the bastard first and went to the one person who could protect her. Carter Reed. He’s a weapon for the rivaling mafia family, but he’s also Emma’s secret. Not only was he best friends with her brother, but she’s the reason he became that weapon in the first place.

My Review:

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

There’s so many things that I dislike about this book. The character, the story and just everything in general.

Emma, as a character, is so irritating, too demanding,and acted like a spoiled brat. She has killed someone, abandoned her equally irritating friends, and let them be hunted by the mob, while she look for shelter , to another mobster. When a mobster also happened to be your dead brother’s best friend and after seeing his GQ body, she basically forgot about the murder she JUST committed and starts lusting over him.

Also, I can’t believe this girl thinks she can have a say in all that was happening. She really believed she has the right to complain when a Mob is trying to kill her and she seeks protection; you need to sit yourself down and don’t put yourself in danger just because you feel like it, or because you were lonely. And about Carter? Im pretty sure even he was 100% done with Emma, with the disappearances he has made even when Emma begged him to stay.

Carter could’ve been a good character but he was so manipulative. But his confidence doesn’t balance out how he turned into a sappy love struck guy by the end of the book, falling in love with one of the most boring characters I’ve ever read. How he could’ve fallen in love with this girl is beyond me.

The secondary characters were undeveloped and flat, and it was impossible to connect with any of them. The writing style is not enjoyable, filled repetitive sequences and cringe lines. This book was neither romantic or thrilling, the premise had so much potential for an action-driven storyline, when in reality the story unfolded at a snail’s pace.

There was always something missing with this book. Perhaps a better backstory or Carter’s pov from the past? Added depth from the characters was desperately needed and I just wasn’t connected with the two main characters in the slightest. There is zero chemistry at all between Emma and Carter.

Books, Contemporary, Science Fiction & Fantasy

BOOK REVIEW: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

by ZaheerahLeave a Comment on BOOK REVIEW: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

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goodreads summary:

On the eve of her ninth birthday, Rose Edelstein bites into her mother’s homemade lemon-chocolate cake and discovers she has a magical gift: she can taste her mother’s emotions in the slice. All at once her cheerful, can-do mother tastes of despair and desperation. Suddenly, and for the rest of her life, food becomes perilous. Anything can be revealed at any meal. Rose’s gift forces her to confront the truth behind her family’s emotions – her mother’s sadness, her father’s detachment and her brother’s clash with the world. But as Rose grows up, she learns that there are some secrets even her taste buds cannot discern.

my review:

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is a combination of both strange and unorganised, but I still enjoyed reading it. The main idea of the story was exciting but wasn’t taken far enough. It took me a few chapters to achieve mild interests, but then when Part II came along all the way to the conclusion, I was completely confused with the shift in the story’s theme.

The writing is excellent, especially in describing the food and the emotions it evokes for Rose. However, there are a few things that I didn’t enjoy about the book. Bender chose not to use quotation marks, I was hoping that after completing the book I would see a reason for the decision, but I still see none. It’s confusing to the reader and adds nothing to the experience that I can guess from. Also, the switch from the focus of Rose and her special ‘gift’ to her brother was confusing. Bender does attempt to tie the two together in the end, but for me, it was less than successful and ultimately unsatisfying. I found myself tuning in and out of the events, but it felt like it was slapped together randomly.

I was disappointed with the ending. You never know what would happen if the Dad goes into the hospital, which is okay, but I would like to know. Also the brother, I get his unique ability, but why he wants to disappear forever? What drove him to do it? His grandfather smelled, his sister tasted, what was his?

The idea was good: a girl can taste the feelings of whoever prepared her food. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much plot with characters which were uninteresting & heavily dependent on stereotypes – distant father busy providing for an unfulfilled wife who’s having an affair and geek brother. The brother also has a unique talent, which was a massive distraction from the main story, and wasn’t very well explained anyway. But most disappointing of all was the lack of a real storyline. The book describes the main character’s developing her ability to identify where her food comes from and what emotions the cook was feeling, but it never really builds to any climax.

A small part of the novel that annoyed me, Rose’s mother is having an affair, and Rose figures it out so. She tells her daughter she’ll stop the affair if Rose wants her too (not because it’s wrong and not because she feels terrible about it) but only if Rose tells her to stop, which Rose says to her to carry on with her affair. I had initially read the book at my grandmother’s house and left the book there mid-finish until I asked if I could finish it which my aunt happily gave the book over to me but I felt like I wasted my time with this book and that’s always a disappointing experience.

Books, Historical Fiction, LGBTQIA

BOOK REVIEW: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

by Zaheerah2 Comments on BOOK REVIEW: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

You Can Find the Book At:

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GoodReads Summary:

This is a breathtakingly original rendering of the Trojan War – a devastating love story and a tale of gods and kings, immortal fame and the human heart.

My Review:

Rating: ★★★★★

Song of Achilles tells the story of Achilles’ life and the Trojan War through the eyes of Patroclus, the beloved companion and lover of Achilles. This is their love story.

A new take on the Iliad and this novel, faithful in many ways to the characters and events of the Iliad stands on its own merit as a love story. I found using the POV of Patroclus to be particularly engaging. I felt sorry for Patroclus as he grew up: the son who always seems to disappoint his father, no matter what he says or does, always hearing from his father. I thought she did an especially good job presenting the evolution of the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus, the attraction growing as they grew up together. Their love–their relationship– is the heart of the book.

I think my favourite parts was when Achilles is just getting to know Patroclus, who reveal how he ended up in Achilles’s father’s care. Patroclus answers that he killed another boy who was trying to take something from him. Patroclus wants to know what Achilles would’ve done in that situation, and Achilles says something like, “I don’t know, because no one has ever taken something from me.” (For those who have read the Iliad, you know where I’m going with this) And then when questioned about fighting Hector, Achilles refusing, simply saying, “What has Hector ever done to me?” (Again, you know what I’m talking about.)

I also enjoyed the development of the character Briseis, the girl taken prisoner by Achilles and then taken from Achilles by Agamemnon, and how Miller handled her story. In the Iliad, we never really see them together and don’t get the idea that there’s any special bond between them until Briseis speaks at his funeral, saying she loved him. This novel, with its more intimate scope, shows us this relationship from start to finish. It also gives Briseis a personality of her own, which is tough when your only role in the story is that of human to be traded between other, more important, characters.

I think the biggest issue I had with this book was the representation of Thetis. I know the novel needed some sort of antagonist but I didn’t think she deserved to be presented in this way. Especially since we know how much she loves Achilles.

Simply put, this is an amazing written story of love and loyalty set amongst the wrath of the gods. An epic novel with action, adventure, a touching romance, mythological creatures, and displays of humanity covering the whole spectrum of good and evil. Absolutely loved it and will likely re-read it in the future (which is rare for me).