Review: Graevale

Graevale by Lynette Noni
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Me immediately after finishing:

GUYS I CAN'T DEAL WITH ALL THESE EMOTIONS.

Review will have to come later. Right now I need to collect myself so I can go to work and act like everything is completely normal when really I feel like my heart has been ripped out of my chest.

GUHHHHH I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGSSSSSSS

***

(Later that day ...)

So.

One of the great things about being an avid reader is that it gives you an extensive imagination. This imagination is what allows us to move from reading about characters to knowing them personally and experiencing all their emotions.

Guys.

THERE ARE SO MANY EMOTIONS TO BE FELT.

(view spoiler)[

I cried.

In my vast history of (visually) devoured books, there has been a solitary ONE book that has ever melted my cold, frozen heart into icy rivers of tears. Now, there are two with that capability. (The first was The Dark Tower by Stephen King, for those of you playing at home.)

This is not even a proper spoiler I know but quite obviously this book contains something so devastating I can't possibly get around to reviewing the rest of the book until I express all of the sorrow that's been bottled up inside me all day. I nearly cried at work, it was that traumatic. It was a physical pain to me. I even saw it coming a little, but I still refused to believe. The first stage of grief really is denial, I guess. Oh god. MY HEART. (hide spoiler)]

(PSA: The following contains unhidden spoilers for the previous novels.)

Okay.

Alex has just returned from her little trip to the past where we had all of our emotions turned upside down as we learned to love people we were supposed to hate. Now Aven's evil again and honestly I'm glad there was a decent time between releases after all because it gave me time to forget how much I liked him in Draekora. Most of our faves are back being their lovable selves (Oh heeeeeeeeey Kaiden <3) but there's a more serious tone now, as Alex ventures around Medora warning everyone of the imminent evil. There's also some new faces but they're easy to get used to. Normally I get really confused with this many supporting characters but these are just written so well that they've basically all become my extended family.

There's also so much sass and it adds so much to the story because it makes it so much more real. Like, there's all this crazy dark, 'the world is in mortal danger' crap but Alex still finds time to grumble and blush and kick people for being annoying. The banter between her and Niyx and between her and Kaiden is EVERYTHING. I love those boys.

Jordan is not quite as sassy, but he's had a pretty rough time so it's actually merciful he bounces back relatively fast. That being said, it's not entirely glossed over, and you can tell there's plenty more going on with that kid that's probably gonna need to be dealt with - particularly if the truth comes out about the king. There's really more about teachers than her loyal sidekicks in this one which is a bit of a shame because Jordan and Bear are another two of my fictional bffs. They work well together, but Bear's carrying a lot of the weight in this one. Dix is cool, but also a bit mehhhhh.

Caspar Lennox, the vampire dude, is featured a lot and he's still pretty creepy but ... less? I miss Hunter a bit. There's also a new, mysterious instructor that teaches Alex ... ooooooohhhhhhhhh. (view spoiler)[(Actually, he's kind of a jerk.) (hide spoiler)]

The plot is just solid and easy to follow, and even though there's a lot of jumping around and SO. MANY. PEOPLE. it's actually pretty smooth and easy to get swept away in. The Meyarins take a bit of a back seat after their starring role in the last novel, which is a bit sad because I'm still hanging out for Zain to break some skulls. (view spoiler)[(Plus, Roka remains unconscious for this entire novel, so he's not exactly fun to be around. He's like that sleeping animal at the zoo that you wanna throw stuff at to wake up coz you know it's gonna be a badass show when he's finally awake.) (hide spoiler)]

OH! AND!!

(view spoiler)[ Alex gets a dog!! I mean, not actually a dog, really, but a tiny ball of black fluff that turns out to be a giant shadow wolf the size of a pony who is loyal and fierce and a thousand kinds of lovable-yet-deadly. It kind of makes up for the utter LACK of Xira, who was nowhere to be seen in this book. Sadface. (hide spoiler)]

There's some really cool adventure stuff which was fun but really my main highlights were everything Kaiden and everything Niyx. (view spoiler)[Well, not everything Niyx. There was that one thing that he did ... that broke my heart ... and ... something about ... a river ...? Of ... tears? GODDAMN YOU NIYX!!! (hide spoiler)] Those two boys ... Like, Kaiden and Alex are so freaking cute together. But she's also not all goofy over him which is very practical and I appreciate that though it frustrates me immensely. I was super happy he had more of a part in this book! And Niyx ... remember back when we thought he was evil? Ah, he's so adorable as a bad boy but he's got such a heart of gold in this book and he's always there for Alex which just made my heart swell. You know you've got a good series on your hands when you can't decide which fictional babe would be your top pick for fictional bf. I'm honestly torn between these two. They're both so stinkin' cute.

Sigh.

Look, I officially love this series.

It makes me laugh, cry, gasp, bite my lip, fidget uncomfortably, wince, wrinkle my nose and all manner of other physical responses. When I'm reading these books, I'm so fully immersed in the world that I actually feel a very real response to the things I'm reading. The characters are so much fun that I wish they were my friends, and that I was sharing the adventures alongside them. These are the things that hook me and cement me as a fan.

This is such a powerful development to the overall story and while it's not quite as frivolous as the previous novels, it still has a lot of variety to keep things interesting, as well as further character development and some heart-melting moments.

If this is the first you're hearing about this series, go out and get a copy of Akarnae ASAP and you won't regret it. It's blown me out of the water since I took a chance on it.

Honestly I'm gonna have to re-read the series now because there's this huge, Medoran hole in it. (view spoiler)[Not to mention GRIEF. Oh god, I'm still so heartbroken. WHYYYYYYYYYYYY (hide spoiler)]

Hurry up, Vardaesia!

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Review: The Dream Thieves

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Man, this is such a random, totally bizarre series.

The ending of book one left a lot of questions (be wary of spoilers for book one, I'll only censor this book's spoilers) and I can't say this book really answered any of them.

I also just ... feel ... like ... it doesn't make sense?

I honestly can't seem to wrap my head around why this series is so frustrating, but I'm gonna try!

Part of it, I think, is because it's fantasy playing at being contemporary, and it just doesn't mesh right.

For example:
I still have issues with these super popular, typical rich-snob-type characters chasing magic and still being considered super popular. I mean, I kinda get it, coz I'm pretty in love with Gansey myself, but how does he retain alpha-male-of-the-town status when he spends so much time doing weird supernatural stuff? And why is no one else outside their group ever mentioned unless it's crucial to the plot? Also, what the heck was everyone at school thinking after the fallout with the teacher from the first book? (And did that actually get resolved then and there because I have no memory of it but grudgingly admit I have an awful memory)

I get really confused about their actual lives because it seems like it jumps all over the place to further the story but we never really get an idea about 'a day in the life of ...' because their lives don't exist unless it's a plot device. Blue worked, like, ONE shift in this book. Of course she's poor. Adam also has a lot of spare time for a guy who works three jobs and has a GIANT EGO to support.

There's also way too many people privy to their world of the supernatural. It's just too drastic a mix of normal and definitely-NOT-normal for it to make sense. (view spoiler)[For example, the fire dragon vs night horror battle at the end that hundreds of people witnessed cannot really be nullified by mentioning they're all off their heads. I don't buy that. That's too much of a blanket cop out. (hide spoiler)]

Guh, all this negativity is gonna give people the idea that I didn't like it. This would be a tragically false idea.

I actually enjoyed reading this as much as the first and it's basically because I have a book-crush on Gansey and I'm totally rooting for him and Blue to hook up. The magic stuff is weird but the Gansey-and-Blue stuff has me sighing like a schoolgirl getting a wink from that boy. Gansey is just such a beautifully complex character! He's also, um, A GENTLEMAN (ALL OTHER YA PLEASE TAKE NOTE) and he treats people with respect and compassion, while also giving them a bit of a ribbing and being charmingly cheeky. Plus he's got the do-anything-for-his-friends attitude that makes all the ladies (and some of the fellas) swoon. He is pretty much my reason for continuing with this series.

Blue is no Gansey but I like her feistiness and she's still pretty fun, and I kinda like her feminist rants although I do cringe sometimes. (view spoiler)[I also like that she finally gave Adam the flick. Damn, that dude is depressing. (hide spoiler)] I do get frustrated when she acts like a child, though! I mean, she's 16 or 17, right? Not actually 12?? (view spoiler)[Let me just have a little rant here about that kissing scene. What the french fry was that?? You don't just go experiment-kissing people! Even if they are dead! I mean, okay, this probably would have been more tolerable if she wasn't kind of dating Adam. Just because I don't like the guy it doesn't mean I think he deserves that kinda dis. He and Blue were clearly a thing but because Blue's over it she decides they're not? Sure, maybe it wasn't defined as exclusivity but still, I'm pretty sure Adam would have assumed she wouldn't go around kissing other people when she'd given him the impression she was kinda into him. Plus, what the heck does she mean she'd say yes if Noah was alive to ask her out?? HELLO! You're falling for Gansey, you fool!! Don't get Noah tangled up in your raging hormones as well, girl! That entire scenario just bugged me SO MUCH. (hide spoiler)]

Noah was ... Noah. Ehhhh. He's cute and sweet but he kinda takes a back seat in this one.

Up front is Ronan, the bad boy that everyone seems to love but I kinda barely tolerate. I like him okay, but I don't understand why everyone is okay with him acting like a jerk and treating them like crap. It's okay to pass off his bad attitude as 'that's how he shows emotions' but, mate, if you are acting like a jerk and talking like a jerk and doing jerk things then you're probably A JERK. I like his little soft spot for animals, though. I just get frustrated because he's such a contrary character and it's not believable to me. I think there's some kind of bridge between his extreme personalities that hasn't been properly written. (view spoiler)[His little bro-date with Kazinsky (am I even spelling that right? I don't care. That guy was a grade A douchebag.) seemed way out of character to me. You hate the guy and you wanna pummel him but you're happy to hang with him and take lessons? I get that it's a shared talent but there was actually zero conflict of emotions as it played out. That was painful for me. I was so mad at his disloyalty. (hide spoiler)]

Ahhhhhh Adam.

Now this kid is just a sad case. I feel for him, I get his backstory, and I understand, but MAN is he a tragic little guy. His damn pride is actually painful and his moping is a killer. I get so frustrated with him because he has such an incredible friend in Gansey and he just treats him horribly. I get the whole not wanting to be a charity case thing but he's so damn arrogant about it! Chill, mate! Trust your friends! Be a part of the crew, instead of pitying yourself for being on the outside!

...wow. I'm a horrible person.

I just get so mad that he can't see how much these kids care about his stupid ass. I hope he finds a way to heal in the next book.

Because, YES, OBVIOUSLY I now have to go buy a copy of the next book.

Now here's some spoilers I wanna discuss.

(view spoiler)[
1. What's the go with Niall Lynch's will? Did I read right that Ronan was supposed to get the house anyway? Did Ronan really never read that part or did I read it wrong??
2. The whole dream thief thing was weird, but fun. But also like really pretty complicated and glossed over at the same time. Also strangely convenient. And again, totally didn't gel with the contemporary vibe. Ronan's been magic his whole life? Hmmmmm.
3. Mr Grey was the most tragic hitman I've ever encountered. You call yourself the best but you fall in love with the first pair of 'nice ankles' you see? Paaaaaaa-thetic.
4. Are we really just ignoring the fact that Neve is missing?
5. Why do all the bad guys get killed off? Kazinsky was a douchebag but it was way too convenient to kill him off. Also, how annoying that he was also heavy into the supernatural stuff. Is anyone at their school actually just a regular kid??
(hide spoiler)]

It's such a messy series with things happening all over the place but it's also a bit of a guilty pleasure because as terrible as I believe it to be I'm actually kind of enjoying it. These raven boys are such a great cast of characters, even if they are poorly written in places. Gansey gets a full five stars, though. Did I mention I love that kid?

I wonder if the next one will be enough to cement my loyalty??


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Review: The Watchmaker of Filigree Street

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay, just give me a minute to get my thoughts in order. What a whirlwind ending!

Can I start by talking about the cover? Covers so rarely rate with me but this one is simply stunning. I'll admit - it's the sole reason I picked this book up in the first place. Beautiful design.

So.

It's a bit of a random story but I really enjoyed it! There's this fellow, Thaniel, who is stuck in a bit of a dead end job. He's a nice enough guy but is very routine and the highlight of his life is drinking tea. Then he gets this mysterious watch that saves his life. Cue the end of normality and boring. (Not the tea, though. There is so much tea.)

The watchmaker of the title is Mori, a reclusive Japanese fellow with a pet clockwork octopus. Katsu is probably my favourite character in the whole book, because he's this adorable lil random kleptomaniac with a thing for socks. He makes me want my own clockwork octopus. Mori is okay.

There's also Grace, a mad scientist who does very 'un-ladylike' things and her bff Matsumoto who's a smug Japanese guy who is quite obviously in love with Grace. Heaven forbid either of them admit it, though. *eyeroll*

Honestly I think it's the characters that make this such a delightful read. They're so different and quirky and they do things you just don't expect. I was constantly surprised by the directions this book took. It was its own, random, clockwork octopus. (Hashtag teamkatsu)

The writing is clear and concise yet beautifully captures scenes so that the reader can easily partake in the action. I just really enjoyed the words and the language, and it was never overloaded with style gimmicks. It flowed gracefully, and every sentence owned its place.

Overall, there was no set direction for the story so it was really a case of settling back and just enjoying the ride, which I did immensely. There's kind of the mystery of who set off the bomb, but honestly I was much more interested in what kind of mischief everyone was getting up to. The clockwork was like a dozen characters on its own.

You are now entering spoiler territory.

(view spoiler)[ I absolutely was not expecting this to be a love story, so when it happened it took me completely by surprise. I was left wondering what had happened and what I'd missed and yet it just fit beautifully. It made a lot of sense and I think it was the not expecting it that made it come together so wonderfully.

I never really got a handle on the whole 'remembering the future' thing (way too confusing for me to try to understand scientifically) so again it was just a case of going with the flow. I'd hate to stop and try examine the concept because I feel like a few plot holes might appear.

I'm incredibly heartbroken over the loss of Katsu, and I can only hope he turns up unexpectedly one day after crawling out of the rubble. Or Mori makes a new one that is an exact replica of the old.

I was a bit confused by the allusion of the ending - the whole, Mori setting up Matsumoto and Grace bit. Mat was on a train to Berlin, right? And he was apologising for being late? So did Mori make him late or is it thanks to Mori he was there at all? I mean I kind of just assume the latter is correct but I have no idea how that actually works. (hide spoiler)]

It was such a delightful, unusual story with such lovable clockwork octopi characters that really brought the story to life. Being set in 1800s England meant there was a lot of consideration of historical traditions, values and practices and it really enhanced the dynamic between the characters.

I'm a bit scattered again I think but the takeaway message is that it's well worth a read! It's a unique piece of work unlike any novel I've ever read and I look forward to reading more from this author.

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Review: Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So I'm pretty pleased to have started my '2018 self development challenge' with an utterly captivating, thought-provoking, soul-searching, five-star read.

This book is just so damn relevant .

We all experience shame and vulnerability.

That seems like such an obvious concept but it took reading this book for me to properly understand that. I'm going to get pretty real here: I struggle a lot with feeling like I'm not worthy, or like I'm not good enough because I can't keep up with peers in certain areas or because I do things differently to most. I see people who seem to have everything going for them: attractive, fit, healthy, great friends, good job ... etc. The notion that these people might experience the same feelings of unworthiness and shame in areas of their own lives just blows my mind. Yet this is something I've read about countless times - 'The grass is greener ...' and all that. I know that no one is living the perfect life of all sunshine and rainbows, but I still feel shame for not measuring up. I practice gratitude often because I know there is so much in my life that I can be thankful for - I have a strong, loving bond with my family, I have a place to live, a job to provide income, a fully functional body, friends, hobbies, knowledge ... and yet I can't help being overtaken by shame when I am in situations that make me compare myself to others. Without exception, comparing myself to those around me makes me feel vulnerable because, more often than not, I inevitably fall short of the mark I'm hoping for.

I HATE feeling vulnerable to such an extent that I really do switch off and avoid things and that made the first part of this book confronting, painful and refreshingly liberating to read.

There's a fair bit in here about the power of semantics, and how the phrases we choose to use can influence how we see ourselves and others. I love that, and I think it ties in well with other self-development/spiritual books I've read that discuss the power of the subconscious mind. There's so much of the world that we can't control, but we have overwhelming power over our own minds provided we concentrate on exercising it.

Daring Greatly is not about doing heroic, extravagant things; it's about having the courage to be true to yourself, and to be unashamed of who you are as a person . It's about not shying away from your vulnerability but embracing it, and using it to develop and grow.

We all experience shame and vulnerability.

By acknowledging this shared trait, we can take comfort in knowing we are not alone. We can work harder to accept ourselves so that our unconscious words and actions communicate positivity, love and acceptance to those around us. We can appreciate the vulnerability of others because we have a greater understanding of how it drives our own thoughts and actions.

This book is written eloquently yet simply, so that the message is communicated without a need to unravel chunks of metaphors and similes first. It uses honest examples - and I'll admit, a few of these really got to me. There is so much about shame and vulnerability that needs to be understood because I hadn't realised until reading this book what a massive impact the two have had on my life.

This book will not teach you how to abolish vulnerability from your life. Rather, it will teach you, as the title suggests, how the courage to be vulnerable will allow you to live a more fulfilling, wholehearted lifestyle.

Honestly, I can't think of a single person who wouldn't benefit from reading this book. It's utterly compelling and so incredibly wise and honest. Brene Brown infuses the ideas with personal stories, both from her research and from her own life, and it gives her enormous credibility because, as readers, we can plainly see that she is teaching from a place of true understanding and experience.

I loved all of it, and I'm not even a parent (nor anywhere close to becoming one) so don't let that part of the title put you off.

I not only highly recommend but implore you to read this, so that we can change the world one mind at a time, beginning with ourselves.

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Review: Whom the Gods Love

Whom the Gods Love by M.M. Perry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I always go into self-published books with a healthy skepticism and low expectations. Maybe that's a pretty harsh generalisation, but it's so easy for people to publish their work online these days that they've often neglected vital editing processes, making for books of a lower quality. Not always, but more often than not.

So with that in mind, this was actually a surprisingly entertaining read. There's plenty of action and the pace is fast, and I ended up getting through it much faster than I anticipated. It's full of fantastic creatures like Harpies, Ogres and Djinn and the main characters are a dynamic bunch with plenty of stories to tell. (view spoiler)[Spiders, though? God I hate spiders. *shudder* (hide spoiler)]

It does read like amateur work, though. There's such a great story here but it's more like a roughly detailed sketch than a full-colour mural. We have this great cast of characters: a snobby king, a grumpy old woman with her young, eager-to-please 'nephew', an enchantress, and two warriors - one the big, manly, 'brawn' type and the other the female leader of the troupe. They have great dynamics between themselves but it never feels like any of the characters are properly fleshed out. Take, for example, the romance between our two warriors, Cass and Gunnarr. There's zero build up and no romance, but we're supposed to automatically believe how in love they are with one another. It's spoken about on several occasions but there's never really any dedication to making us feel the depth of the relationship, or the strength of their commitment to one another. We barely get to know them as individuals, let alone as a couple.

Callan was probably my favourite character because he was the closest to being grey. He's this spoiled rich dude who can't stand bugs and orders people around, but he's also willing to sacrifice himself for his 'commoner' wife. That's a pretty freaking noble thing to do. I was a bit disappointed with how little effort went into fleshing this guy out because I could easily have formed a book-crush on him. He's got so many layers but is never properly explored, and that's just such a shame. Same goes for Nat, our budding wannabe-warrior, and Viola, the enchantress. Both are never really given an opportunity to shine, with the action being mostly carried out by the two warriors. For a woman who can use magic, Viola was poorly utilised as she performed very little magic at all. Nat was never given a chance to step up and have his big development moment, and even though there's still another two books in the series I really feel like he was a missed opportunity here. There's just nothing that really creates empathy and connection to the characters. You kind of just observe them going about their (rather mild) adventure without ever becoming truly invested in it.

I liked the variety of the action but it was all pretty tame, with no one ever seeming to be in any real danger. (view spoiler)[I mean, they walked through that entire 'Forest of No Return', surrounded by these creepy-ass giant spiders, and nothing?! Not even a minor scuffle? Massive disappointment right there. As someone who hates spiders I was expecting to make all kinds of disgusted faces but it was just so meh. (hide spoiler)] They were often covered in grime, but there were no bumps and bruises, no scrapes and scratches along the way. There was very little sense of danger at any time. (view spoiler)[The harpies were about as good as it got and even they were a bit of an anti-climax. (hide spoiler)]

What I did really enjoy though was the storytelling. I liked the momentary diversions from the present, and they were short and sweet adventures with interesting characters. (view spoiler)[I really enjoyed the story about the little blue men, and would love to know more about that! (hide spoiler)] There's a rather creative world here full of magic and legends, and gods who interact on the earthly plane. I think it just took a little adjusting to because there were a lot of gods to remember and, quite honestly, I lost track of who did what etc.

This is a fantastic, creative story but it's very raw and there is so much more that could have been expanded on to make this a really captivating story. With more characterisation and exploration of themes I think this would have been hard to put down.

As it stands, Whom the Gods Love is an entertaining frolic in a new fantasy world and M.M. Perry has the potential to become a strong writer in the fantasy genre. Her gift for storytelling is evident, and I look forward to seeing her writing mature.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: The Sandman

The Sandman by E.T.A. Hoffmann
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

... what did I just read?!

This is so many kinds of disturbing that nightmares are inevitable. How ironic.

I freaking loved it, by the way.

For a short story, there's several layers of creepy, and there's no black and white so part of its genius is in how many questions you're left with at the end.

I want to know MORE.

I mean, surely we've all heard of The Sandman, right? The creep who throws dust in children's faces to get them to sleep?

Well,this delightful little short story, along with my fascination with myths and legends, got me Googling.

Turns out one of the earlier German interpretations of this fellow had him torturing and mutilating the kids that fought his magic sleep dust. Charming fellow. Apparently, that was inspirational stuff for Hoffman, who turned this brute into the horrifying, eye-stealing monster described in this novel.

Anyhoo, the basic notion of the legend is that it represents how parents feel about their kids. I think there's a similar idea explored in the literary genius that is Go The F**K To Sleep.

All that's fun and games, but the titular Sandman has overall a rather brief appearance, and is more of a symbol than a character. This story has way more horror beyond our sadistic, nocturnal friend.

So basically if you love horror, read it. If you love untangling metaphors and symbols, read it. If you love myths and legends ... this is but a small glimpse. If you love short stories that deliver chills almost immediately, read it. If you want to sleep an undisturbed sleep ... read at your own risk.

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Review: The Dalai Lama's Cat

The Dalai Lama's Cat by David Michie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I confess: I am not a cat person. I've always believed them to be arrogant and they don't give you anywhere near the same level of affection as a dog does. Does are happy all the time whereas cats are jerks pretty much all the time. I'm also allergic, so yeah that makes me a bit biased towards dogs, too.

So this was surprisingly adorable and I didn't mind His Holiness's Cat at all! HHC is still arrogant and is far too preoccupied with food to give out any major doses of affection, but she was an entertaining voice. I've never read a book written by a cat before.

It's a relatively short and simple story - a few little happenings to drive the story, but most of all this is a small glimpse into spiritual enlightenment, and how you can make small changes to the way you think in order to lead a happier, more fulfilling life. The knowledge is shared via overheard conversations and are accompanied by a feline metaphor to show the growing wisdom of our MC (Main Cat). It's a work of fiction, but the principles are true enough, and I'd be fascinated to know how much research and reality went into the composition of this novel.

As a story, there's not a huge amount of substance, but for those looking for more in their lives who maybe aren't too keen on delving into the genre of self-help/development or spiritual, this is a great read. It shares some fantastic ideas and inspirations but because our friend HHC is just an ignorant cat, it never comes across as preachy.

A delightful little story with a unique narrator and some profound ideas for furthering self development. Highly recommend. Even if you're not a cat person, like me.

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Review: The Lottery

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love these short stories that are so readily available on the internet!

A lot of social commentary in this short, six-page story. Well written. It drags it out a bit but it's never dull, just portrays that classic small town camaraderie.

It certainly spurns the imagination on, wondering why this is happening, and if there is actually any purpose to it or if it's just a deeply ingrained tradition.

Plenty of literary devices for the English teachers to go nuts with!

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Review: Rebel of the Sands

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There are some YA books that hook you straight away and you can feel a bit of a cult following coming on, and then there are some that are sub-par that you kind of enjoy but know will eventually fade into oblivion, replaced by more exciting characters and stories to obsess over.

I fully expected this to fall into the latter category, but instead it captured my heart in about 35 pages and I've just spent half a day demolishing the rest of it through a rollercoaster of emotions. I love the fast, easy relationship between Amani and Jin, I love their cool nicknames and their rebellious exploits. It was just so easy to fall into the rhythm of the story. Adventure comes fast and there are some great characters, but Jin is just so lovable that really I just kept reading for more of him. The magic and myths were pretty cool as well, and I love the unique focus on creatures less commonly used in fantasy fiction.

The writing is simple, but there were elements that surprised me in their thoughtfulness. This is a story that was well planned, giving it strength and a solid narration to sink your teeth into. The language is easy and the world-building is simply stated but rich with detail. I found it so easy to become a part of the story, becoming familiar with characters easily and picking up the new details nice and quick. This is a story where you'll find friends - which is to say the characterisation uses familiar elements to craft entertaining characters with traits that are easy to relate to.

Did I mention I'm a little bit in love with Jin?

I mean, he's talented, handsome, and a total softie with a sense of humour that means he's not all smouldering gazes and declarations of profound, universe-shattering love. He and Amani work well together, and she's not reliant on him any more than he's reliant on her. I recently discovered the meaning of OTP (I know, I'm old and so not down with the lingo, sorry) and I think I'd like to make my first use of it describing these two together. They're so adorably deadly. <3

The story flows really well with adventure coming from a few different angles but always driving towards one end. There's plenty of diverse characters but they're introduced at a pace that makes it easy to keep track of who is who, and characterisation comes into play here again. There are some cliches and obvious occurrences thanks to that, but there's still a great cast here to work with. (view spoiler)[For example, it's pretty easy to figure out that Jin is royalty working with the rebels. I'll admit, I thought he was the prince, but was completely unsurprised that he was a prince and I knew we'd end up at the rebel's hideout sooner or later. (hide spoiler)]

Parts of this book really wrenched at my heart, with physical responses including lip biting, gasping, brow furrowing, open-mouthed gaping, sneering, finger clicking Zs and laughing out loud.

I was fully invested. Head over heels down the sandy rabbit hole. I think I'm ready to admit it: I loved this book.

Why no 5 stars?

I guess the stereotypes and cliches? I mean, I really loved reading this but there's something holding me back from giving it all the stars. Maybe just because I'm expecting to be blown away by the next one. Which I must have immediately.

Either way, highly recommend. Come join me in my cult following at your own leisure.

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