The Circus is in Town...And I Thoroughly Enjoyed it

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern was a breath of fresh air. For once, I was not hit over the head with romance, but was led into a beautifully crafted world with multiple layers of plot. However, the layers are the novel's strength and it's weakness. Some times it works well, with the reader speeding through the chapter to find out what is going on. Other time, the layers can get confusing, since there are a lot of characters that get talked about and the novel spans many years. I had to slow down from time to time and go back in order to get a sense of the characters and what was really going on. 

The magic aspect was really cool, but it was never fully explained. I got the sense that I was supposed to just accept that the magic was not explainable, but that's not me. I need to know the rules of the game, or else I am going to walk away from the novel dissatisfied. And, in a way, I did walk away unsatisfied. I loved the book, overall, but I was left scratching my head at certain aspects of the story.

This Novel was not a Match for Me

I, honestly, don't know what I expected. I go into every popular young adult novel hoping, PRAYING, that this one will be different. That this one will break against the mold and I can finally, in good conscience, recommend it to someone. 

Today is not that day. 

To start, Matched is boring. Honestly, all you need to read is the beginning and the end. Everything in between is just useless drivel. I'm glad I had it as an audio book, since I could be doing something else while I got through the filler. My sister, who read the physical novel, did not have this luxury. Sorry, Liz. 

The reason the novel is so boring is that the plot is not strong enough to carry a novel this size. The only real conflict going on is between Cassia, the main character, and the two people she is matched with. That's it. And, let me tell you, I could care less about a girl's struggle between two different guys. Is that because I am a 20 year old college student who the novel is not made for? No, because I asked Lizzie, my 14 year old sister what she thought of the book, and she said the same thing: it was kind of boring. 

The only thing this book has going for it is the progression of realization about how corrupt the government is. Cassia starts off fully trusting the government and all of it's rules, but you can see, as the novel goes on, that this naivete begins to disappear. I loved this. However, the plot was still too focused on the love triangle and not focused enough on questioning, and perhaps eventually overthrowing, the government. This aspect was seen only as a side piece or as a way to further the relationship between Cassia and one of her matches, which was annoying. 

This novel is just another stereotypical copy out of it's genre. I mean, I've read a ton of YA novels in my time, and there is nothing different about this book. You're better off re-reading a dystopian novel that you like than reading Matched.

I'll "Confess": This Novel is Only Okay

So I know that Goodreads has this as the number one romantic novel of the year but...I don't know. I don't feel it. I just can't take a book seriously when the guy you're supposed to like says some emotionally abusive shit like "I'm the only one that deserves you". 

If any man ever said that to me, I would kick his ass. And dump him immediately. 

That was the major turn off for me because, otherwise, this book has a lot going for it. It hits on a lot of real life situations, like physical abuse and drug addictions. But, once I got to the characters, all I could focus on were their flaws. Owen comes out of the gate as an asshole, since he says so many rude things about his ex-girlfriend. Trey and Lydia? They're just assholes that stay assholes throughout the entire novel. And Auburn? She's not terrible, but she's not great either. A lot of the time she just lets situations happen because she's scared and never does anything to stand up for herself. Until the end, of course. 

Also, the relationships are weird. Owen and Auburn meet and literally are obsessed with each other to the point that the first couple of chapters is them being with each other all day long. I kept waiting for them to go their separate ways so that they could reflect on their feelings, but either Auburn or Owen would find reasons to continue hanging out longer. It was like I was waiting on a friend who met a guy at a party; she might tell me "10 more minutes" but we all know that this could go on for another hour. 

So, overall, this novel is only okay. It has a really solid plot, but the characters are just so problematic that it hinders the readability of the novel. If you can overlook that, then you'll love the story. If you're like me and can't, I recommend just skipping this one.   

"Witches of East End": The Rare Time the Adaptation is Better than the Original

I honestly stumbled on this book by accident, since, if you've been following me, I've been reviewing quite a few books that have been giveaways. However, I am on a Netflix kick right now and, wouldn't you know it? The complete 2 season run of Witches of East End was on there. 

And I got hooked. 

And it ended on a damn cliffhanger.

And it's cancelled. 

So, the next logical thing to do was to start another show on Netflix to fill the void and to see if the books would bring me the same enjoyment as the series did. 

If you can believe it...I actually like the show more than I like the books. Granted, I watched the series first, but still. The book is good, but, like any adaptation, parts of the book are drastically different than that of the series. The plot in the book was interesting, but I just felt like the show did a better job of giving the audience a story to latch on to. 

In addition, the progression of the book was extremely weird. I can't exactly put my finger on it, but it was as if the author was pulling ideas and explanations out of thin air and just having the characters accept it. There was no real foreshadowing or anything. As the reader you were just like "oh okay, that makes sense" and moving along. It happened way too often which is why it was a red flag to me. 

There's also a thing about where these witches come from that throws you off. You initially believe "oh hey, they're witches" because the book is called WITCHES of East End but they touch on the fact that they might, in fact, be something else. They flip flop between the two so much that I wonder how the characters can even be classified as witches. I don't know, there's no good way to describe it without giving things away. All I know is that I was not this conflicted with the show's explanation. 

If I had to choose between reading the books and watching the show, I recommend just bypassing the novel and going headfirst into the show. The novel just fell flat for me compared to the live adaptation, which drew me in and had me invest in characters (which is why I'm still upset that it got cancelled). However, if you finished the show and still need a witch fix, you should check out this novel. 

This Book is Seriously "Toxic"

*I won this through Goodread's First Read Giveaway*

I should have known to stay away from erotic novels. They're not exactly my cup of tea to begin with, but, what the hell, I thought. Let's delve into this genre. 

Ughhhhhh.

Honestly, it could have been good, but there were entirely too many flaws. Like, for instance, the main two characters are the two must frustrating characters I have ever read in my life. They constantly jump to conclusions and fight and claim that they can't live without the other one blah blah blah. I get enough of this bs in YA novels, I don't want them in my adult novels too. 

The rest of the characters (which there a LOT of) are about as useful as a cardboard cutout. They literally only tell the main character, Phoebe, what she wants to hear and, when they actually tell her useful information, Phoebe blatantly ignores it. 

So...what's the point of these people then? 

The sex scenes were pretty descriptive, but I wouldn't have minded them if they were more realistic. Like they were just going at it the whole time and didn't do anything that would represent a real relationship. Once in a while, Phoebe and Jeremy would have a cute and touching moment but those were few and far between. And then they were getting in their epic fights so it was hard for me to actual WANT them to be together. Friends with benefits? Okay. Boyfriend and Girlfriend? Hell no. 

From a nitpicky standpoint, the paragraph structure was extremely rough. It honestly was mostly single line paragraphs with such unnecessary information that I wondered why the hell it was included in the first place. Like, I do NOT need to read the conversation between Jeremy and the waiter ("What would you like to drink today?" "A coke" "Do you want to see the specials?"). *Not exact quotes but you get the gist. It's annoying.

Overall, the book is only okay. I'm not going to read it again, but if this seems like your thing, more power to you.

A "Steel Heart" was Not Enough to Make Me Love this Novel

*I won this book through Goodreads' First Reads Giveaway*

I'm sensing a pattern here with assassin books. People 1) like writing/reading about killers and 2) there are usually some flaws when it comes to the execution (pun intended). In this case, the writing spoiled the novel for me because, overall, the story was pretty good. While obvious at times, I enjoyed the drama and suspense that came along with it. EVERYTHING else? Not so much. 

First off, there were entirely too many paragraph breaks and jumping around. The paragraph breaks annoyed me because I thought that we were moving to another point in time, since that's usually what happens, but we'd actually pick up like 5 seconds later. That was a little ridiculous to me. The jumping around was rough too because, while it was interesting to see things happening from multiple POVs, it was extremely abrupt. I would find myself having to recover from the writing whiplash by just putting the book down. 

In addition, the plot moved either way too fast or way too slow. The beginning was slow for me, just because we had to set up everything. However, when the plot picked up, I was surprised to find myself wishing for the buildup that was in the beginning. People were figuring things out too quickly and relationships were developing so fast that it seemed completely unbelievable. This, then, hurt the story because, I was not believing nor invested in a word of it. When you lose that authenticity, then the reader loses interest. Had Jones slowed down a bit and built upon the events he already had in the novel, then he could have made the plot stronger. 

Overall, I have to give Jones credit for self-publishing a book. That is courageous in itself and I respect him for putting out something he believed in. Hopefully my feedback will help him to improve his future books and I wish him luck in all of his endeavors.

"Hostile Takeover" Doesn't Follow "The Intern's Handbook"

*I won this book through Goodreads' First Reads Giveaway*

John Lago, the main character, states early on in the novel that this sequel is going to better than the original. 

Ehhhhh....I don't know about that one. 

It's not bad by any means, but I found myself liking the original more. First of all, it's not written in the same way. The last book was written as if Lago himself wrote it, whereas this one is not. In fact, it jumps from present day to past and back and forth. Does this get a bit confusing and abrupt sometimes? Yes. But once you get going it's not so bad. 

Second of all, there's a lot happening in this novel. While the synopsis on the back does touch on parts of the novel, it sure as hell does not do it justice. I walked in thinking the book was going to go one way and came out feeling as if I was unprepared going in.*UPDATE: the Goodreads synopsis is A LOT BETTER than the one on the back of my book. I only just now realized that the two are different 

Oh man, and Alice? She is intolerable in this book. I couldn't stand her, even when Kuhn wanted me to like her. She wasn't so bad in the first novel, but I was ready to take her out myself after this one. 

In addition to everything above, this book has its own designated prologue, but, in my opinion, the prologue should have spanned the first 100 pages of the novel. Everything happened so quickly and seemed so forced in those pages that it seemed the only purpose for these scenes were to set you up for the second half, which was much more paced and thought out. A lot of the time I found myself not thinking about the timing and the logistics because I just wanted to get through the scene. If I thought about it too much, I would find hundreds of flaws...and that's no fun, now is it?

Now, don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the book. After those first 100 pages, I was thoroughly enthralled in the drama of the novel. I also love John Lago as a character, which is probably why I could power through the eh parts, since he is such an interesting character. It's a decent sequel, overall, since you get to dive more into Lago's life, but I still liked the original a little bit better.

"The Intern's Handbook" Is a Delightful Guide to Assassination in the Workplace

Wow. Who knew assassination could be so much fun?

This book is really good. I absolutely adore John Lago, despite the fact that he swears after every other word. But, he's a sarcastic asshole; it just comes with the territory. 

And, I mean, who DOESN'T love a good, old fashioned sarcastic asshole? 

I also really enjoyed the insider look on the assassin field. Normally, you read books and the assassin character is equivalent to a robot. While Lago might compare himself to a robot throughout the novel, he has complex thoughts and feelings (although he would never admit it out loud) that you get to see by reading the novel through his perspective. Lago is treated as a human being instead of some soulless hack that simply kills with no emotions at all. That character would destroy this book and Shane Kuhn knew it. 

My only issue with the book is that there was no indication of time. The novel is fast paced to begin with, so you are already thinking things are happening more quickly than in real life. Normally, I would automatically call bullshit on this (I read a lot of YA novels and THAT comes with my territory). However, there was no way for me to see if this could have made sense in that time frame. Was this case only a month? Or did it drag on for a lot longer? You don't know. Having this explained would have helped to put the events of the novel in perspective for the reader. 

Overall, though, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I won the sequel through Goodreads' giveaways, so I have high hopes that the sequel, like this novel, will not disappoint.

"Royal Wedding" is A Real Fairy Tale

OH MEG CABOT HOW I'VE MISSED YOU SO.

And you too, Mia, it's been a while. 

Oh man, Royal Wedding is fabulous. It's the same Mia that I loved as a kid, when I would read while waiting for my mom to come out of the store. She's still got the best one liners and humor, to the point that I was cracking up and having to read passages to my sister because they NEEDED to be shared. Overall, it was lovely to continue reading about the first Meg Cabot character that I met back in middle school (oh lord...I'm old). 

Were there some flaws? Yes. Did I really mind them? Nah. I mean, I finished this 450 some page book in one day, in between work and a full load of summer classes. If you can keep me THAT invested, then I am completely willing to overlook flaws. 

End Verdict? READ THE BOOK. Better yet, READ THE SERIES. Meg Cabot is a fantastic writer, to the point that I have mirrored my own writing style after hers. She is able to write such relatable characters and does so in a way that is so casual and natural that you end up 60 pages in without realizing it. Everything she writes is AMAZING (unless its the Underworld series...you can see my reviews on that one), so I 100% recommend checking her stuff out. You won't be disappointed.

There was no "Uncertain Choice" When Picking Up this Novel

*I won this book through Goodreads' First Reads Giveaway*

I will forever refer to this book as "The Nun Book", since my best friend saw that the convent was a part of the story and ran with it. 

Don't worry, Dato, the book lives up to the hype we gave it. 

So, yes, our main character, Rosemarie, has been promised to enter a convent on her 18th birthday UNLESS she can fall in love before that. Now, I know what you're thinking: "Oh my God this is going to be so corny". Surprisingly, it's not totally. Rosemarie is a pretty levelheaded and intelligent main character, even though the time period itself (not to mention the YA genre) calls for a damsel in distress. She is quite the realistic character as well, showing uncertainties and rationalizing all aspects of things instead of stubbornly thinking her way is the ONLY way. 

Now the suspense? It's not the best. I mean, I knew most of what was going to happen, either because I'm getting good at figuring it out on my own or its just kind of obvious. HOWEVER, it's manageable. To me, there are three ways to do suspense. Either it's:

1)Totally catching me off guard and my mind is spinning
2)I figured it out but the characters soon did as well
3)I figured it out and want to bang the characters' heads against a wall because they're freaking idiots

This book went with the number 2 approach, so, while I knew where the story was heading, the characters themselves were not too far behind. 

Other minor things were that the romance part was the corniest, but I mean it's three dudes going after one girl...I don't think you can not be corny with that. Also, the narrative switches from Rosemarie to "another character", which you figure out soon enough anyway. The first time it happens, though, the font changes and, since you're technically not supposed to know who it is yet, there's no warning of the POV change. This got confusing at first, since I was trying to figure out if it was an error or, if not, who the other character was that was speaking. Once you get past this first POV change, the rest of the transitions are fine. 

So, overall, it's a great book. I had a great time reading it and I highly recommend it to anyone who is 2000% done with the YA genre. Because, let me tell you, I am totally irritated with what is currently coming out of it, but there is every once in a while that a book comes out that makes me not want to burn the entire genre to the ground. This is definitely one of them. 

I'm "Truly, Madly" In Love with this Book

I finally found a murder/mystery with a splash of supernatural (aka a psychic-like power) that I enjoyed fully.

It's about damn time.

This book does have its faults, though. I mean, I'm not sure if there are any books that don't. Regardless, the ones I've found are minor at best, so they shouldn't deter you too much.

First off, pay attention, because there are a TON of characters in this thing. There was more than one occasion when I had to go back and figure out who was who. It's not too chaotic, but it can get confusing sometimes when you haven't seen the name in a while.

The second issue is the writing. It's not bad, but its not fantastic. Meaning: If you're looking for super descriptive sentences with complexity, you're in the wrong place. For the most part, it wasn't bad. There were just some times where Webber could have combined sentences to make the point more concise.

Like "The curtains were blue" and "The carpet was red". Just push those together and we're good to go. I was so hooked in the story, though, that it was just a minor issue.

Overall, I enjoyed this book the most out of the three I've read this week. It's not a literary masterpiece, but it's a damn good mystery/romance novel.

"Abby Cooper" Finds the Mystery, but Lacks the Romance

There are four things I look for in a romance/mystery novel: good writing, a suspenseful mystery, a likable main character, and a solid romance.

As I went through this book, I managed to check three of the four requirements off my list. Good writing? I couldn't complain. A suspenseful mystery? Hell yeah. A likable main character? Abby was awesome!

Solid romance? Eh...I didn't believe it.

I mean, Abby and her love interest, Dutch, met online and had a pretty good first date. It seemed a little off to me, but, whatever maybe I just was reading into it wrong.

But...I wasn't. The rest of the book is them having few moments where they have chemistry and more moments where you want them to never come in contact again.

Like, for example, when Dutch breaks off their "kind of" relationship because she mentioned she doesn't trust cops and he is, in fact, a cop. He also doesn't believe in psychics YET HE CONTINUES TO ASK HER FOR HELP.

Uh...ok?

He also comes over to tell Abby something and, while she's on the phone, Dutch takes ice cream out of her fridge and starts eating it.

AND SHE IS COOL WITH IT.

At this point, she has went on one date with him and he's questioned her ONCE. AKA THEY BARELY KNOW EACH OTHER. If a man ever tried this on me, you can bet your sweet ass that ice cream would be smacked out of his hands and he'd be on his way out the door, cop or no cop.

This is not the only example either. Dutch would also do some weird stuff like tousle Abby's hair or call her kiddo, even though they didn't have that wide of an age gap. I don't know, that just seemed weird and gross to me because I'm supposed to want them together and, instead, I'm sensing a more brotherly-sisterly bond.

So...I don't know. There were a few times where the relationship seemed realistic and I wanted them to get together, but there were multiple occasions that tainted those moments for me. Other than that, though, the book is pretty good, especially because of Abby's gift of being a psychic. It plays an interesting role in the mystery part of the book, which I really appreciated. I recommend this if you're more of a mystery person, but, if you're in it for the romance, I'd go ahead and pass on this one.

"Spying in Heels" Has a Decent Leg to Stand On

Well, it's no Heather Wells Mystery by Meg Cabot, but its a solid replacement in my book. I mean, I read most of the book in a day, so it must be fantastic, right?

Er...not exactly.

It's not a bad book; it really isn't. You know me, if it was terrible I would be going on a full out rant right about now. It just has some faults that took away from the story, which influenced my four star rating. 

The first thing that comes to mind is the overuse of description. Listen, being an English person, I know that is exactly what we're taught to do in school: use as many details as possible. But, good lord I do not need to know the exact details of what the character is eating or what freeways/roads she's driving on.

Like there were 4 paragraphs, I REPEAT 4 PARAGRAPHS, about the main character, Maddie, getting food at Starbucks. Is that information necessary? No, it's not.

The freeway thing was what irritated me to no end. Maddie would always be spouting off that she took the 405 to 10 to the blah blah, I don't care. I don't live in LA so constantly telling me these freeway names is not helping me at all. I'm just getting more confused. It's like me telling you to take 271 to 480 and get off on Brookpark Road. Do you know what I'm talking about? Not unless you're from Cleveland, you don't.

And even then you might have no idea what I'm talking about, since I just figured out the freeway names and I've been driving for 3 years now. 

So, whatever, it's a little thing that you can easily skirt around because, if she gets too descriptive, you can skim over it. It's a bit annoying, but the plot propels the book enough that it more than makes up for it.  

Honestly, that's what the book has going for it: the plot. There's also some underlying romance, which, of course, gives me strength. Maddie can get irksome, but she means well and she's not a professional spy so you have to cut her some slack when she does stupid stuff. Overall, Meg Cabot's Heather Wells series is still number one in my heart, but this series is a solid second. 

"Alice in Zombieland" is No Trip to Wonderland

Oh my. 

That's all I can think to say about this book. I was stuck in an airport for three hours with a dying cell phone and I managed to avoid this book like the plague, that's how unappealing it is to read. 

I mean, I still read like 60 pages, but it was a rough 60 pages.

*Sigh* I haven't touched it in three months and it still has the power to make me angry. Let's just get through this so I can be on my merry way.

First of all, Alice in Zombieland? More like there's a girl named Alice and there's some zombies where she lives. And she daydreams sometimes about making out with people (more on that below). It's not a play on Alice in Wonderland, its just some snazzy words that made sense with the premise. If you're looking for white rabbits and the Cheshire cat, you came to the WRONG place.

Basically what killed this was the insta-love. There's "Twilight" insta-love, which is annoying and unrealistic but manageable. And then there is Alice insta-love, which consists of both individuals seeing one another for the first time and transporting to another world where all they do is make-out. This occurs quite a bit in the middle of the hallway at school. 

Like...COME ON. I can't get a boy to flirt with me and you're making out with your crush in another dimension the first time you see him. Sure. That makes sense. 

AND THIS HAPPENS MULTIPLE TIMES IN THE FIRST 60 SOME PAGES. 

Alice also SUCKS as a character. I mean, she's witty, but internally she's a mess. Like, if you're going to make a sarcastic comment, at least be confident about it first. Don't make me read about how you're so unsure of what you're saying and then act like you're the head bitch in charge. No. I won't believe it and neither should everyone around you. 

The only redeeming quality of the book was the first chapter (even though it was more of a prologue?) because it was captivating and was a seemingly good origin story for an independent, female, kick ass zombie hunter. 

BUT THEN I GOT SMACKED IN THE FACE WITH INSTA-LOVE AND THAT WAS THAT. 

If you can make it farther, peace and blessings to you. I just want this as far away from me as possible.(less)

Well, "The Fault In Our Stars" Kind of Wrecked Me

DAMNNNN...that hurt my heart a little bit.

I mean, I didn't cry, which was EVERYONE said they did when they read this. Maybe it's because I prepared myself for the sadness that would ensue or maybe it was because I just don't cry when it comes to sickness and death. I don't know...but it still had an impact on me.

For one thing, it made me grateful to be a healthy person. The book puts life into perspective and makes you cherish things you overlook every single day. I remember multiple times where I superstitiously "knocked on wood" every time I realized how lucky I was to not be sick like Hazel.

Speaking of which, GOD BLESS HAZEL. She is probably one of my most favorite characters EVER. She is snarky, confident, and basically does not give a shit about anything. I LOVE IT. She doesn't let her illness define her and is, genuinely, a fun character to read about. John Green did good.

Overall, this book...I can't even describe it. There are twists, great quotes, lovable characters, and parts that move you. If this isn't a perfect book, then I don't know what is.

"House of Hades" is a Great Edition, Just Don't Read it on its Own

I've always been a fan of the Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan. Actually, I'm not just a fan, I'm obsessed. I loved his original series and I've enjoyed making my way through this series.

Except for the first movie. That was a hot mess.

The thing about this Heroes of Olympus Series is that there is a LOT going on. There are a million character POVs and jumping from like 10 people throughout the entire book can get pretty exhausting. Not to mention the fact that you have to remember things that happened from the past books! This is not easy when you are trying to read the books as they come out, since you are going for months at a time without reading this stuff. To jump back in, you have to readjust and reach into your memory to remember what was established in the last book(s). It's hard to do, but that's the price of liking an ongoing series.

Other than that, though, this book is great: the characters develop, secrets are revealed, and there is action throughout. There's even a part where Riordan came out of left field  with some progressive stuff. It was unexpected, but I am so glad he decided to go that route with the story.

At the end of the day, though, I'm just here for Percy and Annabeth. And, well...whoever was in the first series. The other characters are okay, but I'm just invested in my original peeps. It's like if you read Harry Potter and Harry, Ron, and Hermoine shared time with new main characters. You'd like the newbies, but you would be more interested in reading about the old crew.

Overall, if you are a returning reader, like me, you know what to expect. This book is a great addition and answers all the questions that you had from the last book. However, I DO NOT RECOMMEND READING THIS OUT OF ORDER. You will be so confused and probably end up hating the series, which would be horrible for you BECAUSE IT IS SO GOOD AND SO WORTH IT. If anything, you HAVE to come into this series from the beginning (more preferably the Percy Jackson and the Olympian Series), because it eases you into Riordan's writing style. Once you do, I guarantee that you will be hooked.

"Vampire Academy" Proves That Vampire Books Can Be Good

I'll be totally honest with you: when I first saw this book, I was irritated. It was YET ANOTHER vampire book riding along the coattails of that one major hit...what was it?

Oh yeah, fucking Twilight. (Don't even get me started on that...)

So, imagine my surprise when I saw the TV spot for the movie and realized this series looked pretty kickass. Rose seemed like the most sarcastic and sassy person EVER, so I was instantly intrigued. Plus, everyone was on my ass to finish it since the movie came out last weekend and they seemed to genuinely enjoy this book. If they liked it, I probably would too.

And Rose. Rose made me want to read it just so I could see what she would say.

I wasn't disappointed either. The book sucks you in immediately and you feel an instant attraction to the characters. Rose is exactly what I looked for in a main character and was very refreshing to read from her perspective, since she is definitely NOT a weak or whiny person. They plot was great too. It kept you on your toes and would gradually feed you information so that you wouldn't guess the ending. I appreciated this, because nothing sucks more than guessing the ending five minutes into the book.

I, honestly, can't wait to see the movie this weekend and compare them. I noticed that some of the parts of the trailer are different from the book, but, as long as they make a good ADAPTATION of the book, I'll be satisfied. I also can't wait to get my hands on the next book in this series, because this book is just that good.

"Divergent": Not Bad, but not Great Either

Going into Divergent, I had some high hopes. A lot of people were raving about it and I've started to seen some previews for the movie online. As someone who likes to read the book before the movie comes out, I figured I'd jump right on this and get ahead.

I don't necessarily regret it, but I don't think it did me any favors.

I just feel like I am not a dystopian book lover. I honestly don't think this book was terrible, but I didn't feel connected to it at all. Instead of being sucked in, I just felt like an observer, watching the events of the story unfold before me. This shouldn't be surprising because I didn't care for the original Hunger Games book either, and, while they are two COMPLETELY different books, I feel like they had similar concepts going on.

And, for the record, I would reread Divergent before the Hunger Games. That first one I just did not like...

Back to Divergent, though. It had everything I like in a book: some badassery, a love interest, and a strong main character.  SO WHY DON'T YOU LIKE THIS BOOK KATIE?!

TRUST ME, I want to like this book more than I did. But I just feel like there wasn't a lot of setting change and the same things would keep happening. The end of the book felt rushed, but I was kind of glad because I just wanted to finish this book (it was due in 24 hours and I'm a college student. The struggle). They also didn't really go out of their way to show the importance of divergence, WHICH IS THE TITLE OF THE BOOK. Usually, when that is the case, the reveal leading up to it is full of suspense and guessing what its importance is. Roth doesn't build it up at all and, in the end, you know what it is but it's nothing extraordinary.

That might be the reason why I didn't enjoy this book as much as I did. There was not a lot of buildup to suspense. There is some, but it's not enough to make your heart start to race and want to continue reading. I want that kind of suspense, because that's the whole reason why I read!

So, Divergent. It's not bad, but it's not great. If you like dystopian societies, you'll probably love it, but, for me, it was only eh.

KATIE'S LAST WORDS: I am looking forward to the movie, though. I mean, I didn't like the Hunger Games book, but I loved the movie. Hopefully, the same thing happens with Divergent.

"The Choice": Not My Best Pick For Reading Material

I already know what you're thinking, this is a Nicholas Sparks book you weenie, why are you reading this? For the record, I really do like Nicholas Sparks books, my favorite being Safe Haven (not the movie, mind you, because the trailer looked nothing like what the book was about). I remember the Last Song pretty well too and I didn't mind that, nor Dear John, even though that was probably my least favorite to date. This one? It was only eh.

First of all, it's short. According to my Nook, it's only 220 something pages. At first, I was psyched because I didn't have to read that much, but after finishing the book, I wish there was more relationship development. In the first half of the book, Sparks tried to do that; he introduces the main love interests and have them interact with each other. To me, though, this was the most unbelievable part of the entire book because they fell in love so fast. Like there was a few meetings where nothing happened romantically, although you were expecting it to lead there and then BAM INSTA-LOVE. I had to check and make sure I wasn't reading a YA novel or like Twilight because I did not think adult romance novels had this concept.

Apparently, as I learned from this book, they do.

The second half of the book I won't spoil for you, but, if you read the prologue and the title, you were probably expecting it by this point. While I liked the emotions surrounding the situation, I just wasn't into it. I felt like it was forced and it was just trying to make me feel for these characters that I barely knew anything about, since the "getting to know the characters" portion was breezed through so fast. Plus there was so much time missing from the first part to the second part that it left you with questions you will never get answered.

It also drove me up a wall that the speeches were so...perfect. Yes, this is a Nicholas Sparks novel; I should be expecting this. But, why NOT have more realistic situations? There is no way that these characters' lives were so happy and problem free. There is no way that these characters could say the perfect thing at the perfect time. It just seemed cheesy and awkward. I would read the passages with a character giving a love speech and I would laugh to myself since there is no way in hell that would happen in real life. I JUST WANT REALISTIC, NOT PERFECT.

The epilogue was predictable as well. If you saw what was coming in the second part, you saw what was coming in the epilogue. Am I mad about it? No. But I just wish that I could have been surprised.

"Gone Girl": It's Not Your Mama's Mystery Novel

I'm not normally an adult mystery novel kind of girl. Granted, I am eighteen, so I usually stick to what I know: Young Adult novels. They're not always good, but, it's my age group so, you know. This time, though, I decided to try something new.

And I'm so glad I did.

Gone Girl is a novel that will keep you on your toes every step of the way. Seriously. Just when you think you know what's going on, Gillian Flynn throws in another twist and it's back to the drawing board. It's wildly addicting and pretty messed up, just like a good mystery novel should be. And there were no sparkly vampires, which is always a plus.

There are also multiple perspectives in the novel, which is something I always find interesting. It was even better in this novel, since their POVs would always change your opinion of the other character. One minute you were pro-Nick and the next you were pro-Amy. This dynamic was cool, since it was realistic and kept you on your toes.

The only thing I didn't care for was the end. I really wanted the book to be resolved and not left where it was. The ending did stick with me for days (and is still shocking to me now), so Flynn did exactly what she was supposed to as an author. I highly recommend it and bet that you will not see the ending coming, not in a million years..