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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Review: Notes from Underground

Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

WARNING: I tried to write this review without bad language but I JUST COULDN'T DO IT. Swearing ahead.

It would be dishonest of me not to put this on my 'utter trash' list because that's what I thought of it the entire time I was reading. It's mercifully short but even so, still a complete drainer. There are some really fascinating ideas thrown in but when he's still talking about them ten pages later (or 50, even) it just wears you down. Nothing really happens except that this complete DOUCHEBAG talks about how he likes to be a DOUCHEBAG because THAT IS LIFE. By the end of it, my mouth was literally open with disgust. I have never read a more loathsome character.

Which, I guess, is why it's considered so brilliant.

I mean, I see it. I see the depth, and the exploration of human kind, and that this is just so BATSHIT INSANE that nothing like it really comes close. Dostoyevsky had some serious balls writing something as despicable as this. He does really dig into some ideas that will make your head spin, but it was just waaaay too depressing for me. I got ZERO enjoyment out of reading it. It made me want to go hug a puppy. For like a week. This guy represents everything that's wrong with the human race. (I might be exaggerating, I don't know. I'm just upset. He's such a dick. I wanted to punch him in the face.)

I threw it a bonus star because I can see that the dude had to be brilliant (or completely off his rocker, but aren't they usually the same anyway?) to come up with this, and I can see that there's some seriously dense, thought-provoking material here. But it's just a crummy, crummy book to read.

I'd recommend this one for anyone who likes to feel superior by reading challenging books and people who love being miserable. Everyone else would be doing themselves a favour by steering clear.

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Review: Bird Box

Bird Box by Josh Malerman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'M ON THE FENCE.

This is definitely more psychological thriller than horror, which left me a little disappointed. It was eerie and had some super creepy moments but it really lacked the substantial horror I was hoping for!

That being said, it does the psych stuff extremely well.

The entire novel essentially revolves around the subtle horror of being unable to open your eyes. How terrifying the world becomes when you can't see what you're up against, and you're forced to navigate a world completely blind to it. The monster could be right there, and you'd never know. How do you resist opening your eyes??!

Honestly, I wonder how blind people will feel about this book??

Malorie is a great protagonist. She has the ideal blend of bravery and fear to make her a perfectly believable heroine. Her predicament is fascinating, and the sporadic timeline shows us multiple facets of her character in different scenarios. The rest of the housemates are interesting but no one really stood out to me other than Tom and Don.

Let's get spoilery!

(view spoiler)[I didn't like that when the horror came, it was all at once. With this many housemates, I kinda wanted them picked off one by one in shocking and terrifying ways. When their deaths came, it was kinda disappointingly vague and abrupt.

Dog deaths!! WHAT! Nothing hurts my heart more than animals dying in books. Poor Victor. But what happened to the second husky, anyway? And the birds??!

Why was Gary immune? I kinda hate ambiguous books like this where there's no proper, satisfying explanations. I get that it's all about how humans act under terrible circumstances, but if you go so far as to give us 'creatures' then surely we can have a little more explanation? Please??

Also can we just take a minute to appreciate how hilarious the whole situation must have been for Gary, watching everyone stumble around with blindfolds, running into things all the time. What a laugh.

I'm so curious about the rest of the world, too.

The whole time the gang was in the boat I wondered why they didn't do their peeing and vomiting over the edge of the boat? I mean sitting in that mess would have been so GROSS.
(hide spoiler)]

I dunno, I guess the whole thing was too human for my liking. Too ambiguous and vague, too much about how people react when you take away their sight. It was utterly captivating, but only because I was waiting for it to get hectic.

It's a unique story, and it will keep you hooked from start to finish, but it's definitely more thriller than horror. Less gore and mayhem, more subtle chills. I'd still highly recommend it, though, just because of how different it is.

I'm super curious about the film now, though. How do you produce a visual representation of a book that dwells on the fear of being without vision??!

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Review: The Art Collector of Le Marais

The Art Collector of Le Marais by Ahmad Ardalan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

To be perfectly blunt, this is kind of a nothing story.

I was bored a lot.

This is the story of Sebastian's life, but it's told rather than shown which makes for incredibly tedious reading.

A lot of research clearly went into writing this novel, because it feels like we get ALL of it. Rather than focusing on the most important/interesting facts to enrich the novel, we get walls of text on all kinds of mundane things. I was really interested in the art side of things, but with so many names and styles and preservation techniques etc. it all got so muddled and in the end nothing really made an impression. There were also some awkward spelling and grammar mistakes.

Honestly, I think what this story needs is just a heavy-handed editor. Someone who can tease out the interesting and help it form a much more eloquent story.

The story itself needs a little tough love, too - the amount of priceless art Sebastian is given for free just because he's nice to someone is absolutely ridiculous. Every person he interacts with is overwhelmingly generous and kind and I wasn't buying it. Not nearly enough struggle for my liking. It was also really hard to keep track of what year it was, how old everyone was, and just generally get a feel for where and when we were. It was really hard to immerse myself in it.

I didn't particularly care for any of the characters, (view spoiler)[(and thought it was a bit brutal when half of them were killed off in, like, a paragraph, about halfway through) (hide spoiler)] and so I just never really got attached. Even the Paris setting was a bit of a let down. There was just not enough detail in characters, setting or atmosphere; no emotions for me to feel. Very bland all up.

It's quite obvious that the author has been inspired by his own travels, and done plenty of research. The effort is there, it was just long and tedious and really needed some tough love to cut it down to an interesting story and include some emotion.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review.

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Review: Raelia

Raelia by Lynette Noni
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**Re-read Jan/Feb 19**

MY HEART.

This is definitely the book that hooked me firmly on the series.

The escapades.

The characters.

THE DRAMA.

And yet still so much sass.

Where's those handy check marks ...

✓Alex is getting better at fighting
✓Meeting new friends: HELLO Roka and Kyia and Zain and oh hey a cameo from that one guy that we're all definitely falling in love with very soon
✓Spending more time with old friends ie I TOTALLY SHIP ALEX AND KAIDEN THEY ARE ADORABLE
✓More super powers hooray!
✓Teachers trying to kill students; how very relatable
✓The whole SAS trip was SO MUCH FUN
✓Alex is so snarky when she lacks sleep which I love, but she's also just naturally a sass queen which means I love her even though everyone else loves her and I'm not usually one to follow trends
✓Lots of fighting, I LOVE FIGHT CLUB and mostly just Declan enjoying beating the snot out of Alex and Alex taking it like a champ
✓BUT NOT FOR LONG, BUCKO!

This concludes my nonsensical babbling inspired by my love of this series which is only growing stronger with re-reads. For sense, please read my original review, below.

**Original Review**

SO GOOD.

This series is so much better than I expected! The first one was quite obviously Harry Potter-inspired but with this second novel the story has certainly taken on its own life, making it quite an exciting read.

There's still way too many good looking people but these characters are so easy to fall for because of the dynamics they bring to the story. I love the friendships and particularly the teamwork, which gives our heroine a great support network instead of the 'only I can do this' complex so many teen fantasy heroes end up with.

I love the variety of the classes and the little details that flesh out the world as a place of magic. There's still a few predictable elements and typical scenarios but surprisingly this didn't bother me in the slightest as I truly enjoyed reading through these moments. As with the first novel, there's a few explanations that you can't really think too much about (such as Alex's extremely unconcerned parents) but if you let go of the details and relax into the story you'll find yourself enjoying the ride.

Absolutely loved it! Can't wait to get my hands on the next one!

Review for Akarnae here

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Review: Akarnae

Akarnae by Lynette Noni
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**Re-read 01/19**

Reading this for a second time was such a fun experience. I was a little cynical the first time around because I'm wary of HP rip-offs, but there's so much sass in this series it's hard for me not to fall in love.

Alex is such a fantastic protagonist. She falls into this world of magic and takes it all in her stride, going along with it, and copping crap from her new BFFs, Jordan and Bear, whenever she starts to take the magic stuff too seriously. This is a book that's not afraid to poke fun at itself.

There aren't really any characters I don't like. They're all a bit different, and unusual, and psychotic. Karter is awesome. Finn ... nope. I would not want to do one of his classes at all, nuh-uh.

Kaiden James .... mmmm. I mean, he didn't properly steal my heart until book 2, so it was fun flirting with him a little in this one. He and Declan were far less intimidating this time around. Funny how that happens.

I really do love this series and I need more people to read it so I can fangirl over these characters more. Okay? Thanks friends!


**Original Review 12/16**

Hmm. A YA Fantasy novel set at a boarding school for 'gifted' kids. Where have I read this plot before??!

Yet there was something about it that really drew me in and this turned out to be a pretty enjoyable novel. It's slightly awkward in its introduction to the world, with blocks of information and some pretty thin explanations, however this does open things up nicely for greater depth in subsequent novels.

Alex's initial journey from her world to Akarnae feels quite out of place, but once it's out of the way the story flows quite naturally, and fast. I rather enjoyed the dynamics between the main trio, as well as the colourful supporting cast, though it was a little frustrating that everyone was 'unnaturally good-looking'. Mostly I enjoyed the humour and the ease of the interactions - and the absence of moodiness. It was light and fun, despite the inevitable dark thread destined to tie the conclusion to the remainder of the series.

It's painfully obvious that the author is a Harry Potter fan, but that hasn't prevented the production of an entertaining introduction to a new fantasy series, likely to be popularised by its own merits. An easy recommendation for YA fantasy lovers, but likely to be particularly enjoyable to HP fans looking for something new to sink their teeth into.

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Review: Rubdown

Rubdown by Leigh Redhead
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I'm gonna make this brief.

This series is not for me.

It's so freaking kinky. Is 'erotic crime' a genre? Coz that's what this is.

Here's the essential formula:

Kinky stuff -> Drinking and Smoking -> Shower -> kinky stuff in order to get clues -> Drinking and Smoking -> Shower -> Kinky stuff -> REPEAT.

OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND SWEET JEEZUZ I AM OVER IT.

I actually really like the Melbourne setting but even that was a bit overdone - I'm pretty sure people who don't know Melbourne aren't gonna give a crap about all the location name drops. Also, I don't recall Melbourne ever being as seedy as it is in this book. My poor, honest city.

If you like the kinky stuff, ENJOY.

If you like crime, GOOD LUCK.

I have two more books to go in this damn series (won them, so I feel obliged to read them) but for now I'm gonna find some good clean fun to read about. Right after I take a shower.

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