Saturday 27 August 2016

The Problem With Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout Book Review (NON-SPOILER)

Hey book lovers, so I am back with another book review NON-Spoiler, of course, and this time, it's the new book that the wonderful Ms Jennifer L. Armentrout wrote, (she just writes the best contemporary books), and although this book took me a really long time to read, long as in almost two months, but to be honest, this book is just AWESOME! Read it guys, if you haven't.

Rating : 4/5 stars

Synopsis (from Goodreads) :
For some people, silence is a weapon. For Mallory “Mouse” Dodge, it’s a shield. Growing up, she learned that the best way to survive was to say nothing. And even though it’s been four years since her nightmare ended, she’s beginning to worry that the fear that holds her back will last a lifetime.

Now, after years of homeschooling with loving adoptive parents, Mallory must face a new milestone—spending her senior year at public high school. But of all the terrifying and exhilarating scenarios she’s imagined, there’s one she never dreamed of—that she’d run into Rider Stark, the friend and protector she hasn’t seen since childhood, on her very first day.

It doesn’t take long for Mallory to realize that the connection she shared with Rider never really faded. Yet the deeper their bond grows, the more it becomes apparent that she’s not the only one grappling with the lingering scars from the past. And as she watches Rider’s life spiral out of control, Mallory faces a choice between staying silent and speaking out—for the people she loves, the life she wants, and the truths that need to be heard.
 


What I Like:
The characters are definitely one of my favourite parts in the game. Not their personalities or anything, but just the small fact that they are so real and seemed to have feelings, voicing their opinions out like a real human being. They also really face problems in the book and they try to face it, which makes it so much more realistic instead of them being all perfect and wonderful without any problems at all.

I definitely love our two main characters, they are like the cutest OTP that I have ever read about, and man, I love them so much! Although, I don't really like Rider, for one reason, (you won't know unless you read the book, *smirks evilly*), but other than that, he is just so perfect! So cute, so hot, so wonderful that I can't even say the right things to describe him! AH! 

I also really like Rosa, she's Mouse's "mother", Mouse is adopted, if you guys are at like the first page of the book, and don't worry, they tell you this part in the very first few chapters in the book, so no worries, alright?

I also really like the way JLA write about the issue of Post Trauma Stress Disorder (PTSD), and yes, that is a real thing if you didn't know about it. And she wrote it with a lot of knowledge on it to bring out the whole situation, making it so real and let you know more about the disorder and this just makes you understand and reach out to the character even more. I definitely feel that this PTSD were one of the main key things in the book, and I really like the that you get to know more about Mouse/Mallory as she reveals her reason of having PTSD (not a spoiler, they say that in the first few chapters, so relax, and just read on.) 

I also like that beautiful book cover of this book, haha this isn't considered as a book review, is it? Oh well, but I really DO like this cover, So artsy and I can't stop looking at the book! 

What I dislike:
The parenting in the book is just... too horrible to even say anything. Good or bad or who, I won't say anything, but they are definitely something I hate, and makes you realize that not all parents are perfect or bad, and they make you treasure your parents even more, well at least that's what happened for me, and I hope that's the way for you guys as well! 

I hated Paige, let's be real here, she's just so annoying and 'beachy' and I she gets on my nerve every time I read about her with Rider (you also know this at the 2nd or 3rd chapter),  
And to be real honest with you here, I have never hated a character so much besides her! She really breaks through all the record of my hated characters in all the books that I have ever read. (Although I can't be a judge since I don't read a lot of books, but you know the hatred is just so real.)

I also didn't really like the plot setting in the story, because it was so confusing! I couldn't really understand how the houses work and everything, I guess maybe it's because I'm a foreigner, and that's why I didn't understand how the housing system works, because it definitely is different from where I am and the States (this book takes place in the States right? Or... maybe not? I'm just confused with it), and this just makes me so confused whenever the description was talking about Mouse going to this place and all, and I couldn't even picture a single thing in my head! 

Things I hate but grew to like:
Rider, this baby boy is just too gorgeous. As said before, I didn't really like him because of some things at the beginning, but as I progress through the book, I really understand him, and damn, he is starting to grow on me! I'm liking him so much more!

Ending:
I really enjoy the ending, I like the way the whole book ended and it just left off with a really good feeling, and it was so awesome! I was pretty much satisfied with the ending, even though this book was really inconclusive, and you guys know how I dislike my books with inconclusive endings, but this book, it just ended off wonderfully. It just feels like the characters had more stories ahead that only they know, and we are just with them for this period of time until the book ended, which makes me feel good! I don't know if I'm making any sense, but that's how I feel, and it just make me love the book even more!

Alright, I guess I will end this blog post here, I hope you guys will want to read this book even more, and would want to pick it up! I will have another blog post up soon, so until then, happy reading!

=)

Thursday 25 August 2016

Coffee Book Tag!

Hey book lovers, so today I am here with a book tag on books and ... COFFEE! My love of coffee is so much that I have decided to do this tag!

So let me start off about some facts about myself first, about my love of coffee. So I found my love for latte since 2012, and I my love for Starbucks is so great, you will never understand my obsession over it! I will need my weekly dose of Starbucks, and I can't go over two months not having it, if not things will go really bad.

Okay, so without further ado, let's get started with the tag!!

1. Black: Name a series that's tough to get into but has hardcore fans.
I will have to say the Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. A lot of people loved this trilogy, and it also has really great reviews on Goodreads, but the thing is, when I tried reading it a year ago, I couldn't get into it. I will try it again soon, fingers cross that I will like it this time!!

2. Peppermint mocha: Name a book that gets more popular during the winter or a festive time of year.

So the answer for this that I'm going to give is already very popular by itself, but a lot of readers will read it more often during the winter and festive time of year. I'm sure you guys already know what book this is, and that is the Harry Potter series!!!

3. Hot chocolate: What is your favorite children's book?
So my childhood didn't start with Harry Potter, surprisingly, I actually didn't enjoy reading Harry Potter because I started with the third book "Prisoner of Azkaban" instead. I guess my favourite children's book will be the Geronimo Stilton's books. My love for those books are just overwhelming that I even took them out of my bookshelves just to re-read them nowadays!


4. Double shot of espresso: Name a book that kept you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.
I'm pretty sure the book is Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout. This book is a thriller-suspense and everything in the book was just so intense! I remembered being surprised by all the little twists that were brought to my attention in the book! 


5. Starbucks: Name a book you see everywhere.
A book that I see everywhere is Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. The book recently just became a movie, and there are a lot of hype going on around this book, so everywhere in the bookshop on the shelves is this book!


6. That hipster coffee shop: Give a book by an indie author a shoutout
I'm not very familiar with the category of Indie authors, I'm not sure who are self-published or traditionally published, but the only author that I know of is Jennifer L.Armentrout who self-published her book, Half-Blood (Hopefully I'm not wrong about it...)

7. Oops! I accidentally got decaf: Name a book you were expecting more from.

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson which I have a review on about this book, so check it out if you haven't! I definitely expected something more from the book, it was just so short! I really wanted to read more!

8. The perfect blend: Name a book or series that was both bitter and sweet but ultimately satisfying.
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas, let's be honest here, this book, is just a KILLER! You get all the feels, ALL THE DAMN FEELS. They just hit you right in the face when you least expected it, it was just so bittersweet! But the story throughout was just SO GOOD! It's like I'm on drugs, where I want to read more and more about this book (not like I've been on drugs, but it's just so addicting to read about!) I really contemplated on reading the book once again after I finished it, because #feysand. Don't deny their love!!!! I ship them so hard! ><

All right, I shall end this post here, I hope you guys enjoyed this sort of tag, and I hope you guys do it, it was so much fun! Hopefully you find some books through this tag that you want to read about even more now! I will have another post up soon, so stay tuned for that! 

Until then, happy reading! =)

Saturday 13 August 2016

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson Review (NON-SPOILER)

Hey book lovers, so I am back with another book review for you guys, and this time it is a graphic novel! This is my first ever graphic novel, and I happened to see it in my neighbourhood library one day, just sitting there, waiting for someone to pick it up. I heard a lot of great reviews so I thought why not just pick it up and try it! Turns out, it was a great experience reading this, and it just felt like reading manga, maybe even better. Now I can't wait to read more graphic novels to widen my horizons!

Okay, cutting the chat, let's go on to the review!

 Rating : 4.5/5 Stars!

Synopsis (from Goodreads) :
The graphic novel debut from rising star Noelle Stevenson, based on her beloved and critically acclaimed web comic, which Slate awarded its Cartoonist Studio Prize, calling it "a deadpan epic."

Nemeses! Dragons! Science! Symbolism! All these and more await in this brilliantly subversive, sharply irreverent epic from Noelle Stevenson. Featuring an exclusive epilogue not seen in the web comic, along with bonus conceptual sketches and revised pages throughout, this gorgeous full-color graphic novel is perfect for the legions of fans of the web comic and is sure to win Noelle many new ones.

Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks they are.

But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona's powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.


What I like:

The genuine feeling the characters give in this book, it felt like they are real characters and that they are just so true and really have emotions which you can also feel together with them in the book. Whenever the characters have any problems, you really feel the struggles that they are feeling at that moment.

I also enjoyed how the author actually ventured into the other side of the hero world, where you get to see how the heroes and villains came about, and they took a really different turn from how you will be expecting when reading the book, which really took me by surprise, and I really enjoyed this element in the book. 


And lastly, I also enjoyed seeing how the characters were actually all flawed, like they had their bad times and nightmares that they had to overcome. Usually, all heroes are perfect, and all enemies are bad and wicked, but what if they are different from the usual? What if they are not what you expect them to be? 

I went into this book unknown about all this things, and to be honest, they took me by surprise and it was one of the best things about this book, and I would definitely want to read more about such flawed characters. 

What I dislike:

I didn't like the ending of the book as it was really vague, and I didn't like how I have to guess what is happening afterwards, like there was no definite ending to the ending, you know what I mean? It's confusing, but it's just sort of a ending that has no conclusion to it, which sort of bothers me. 
And there are two characters in the book that sort of came together at the end, but I have no idea whether they are together because they felt like they need to, or because they want to. Which, again, bothers me a lot, even after I finished reading it.

Another thing which I didn't like about this book was the font that was used in the story, I was so bothered with it throughout the whole book, and sometimes the author used capital letters and underlining of the words in the dialogue, which I don't know if it is for emphasis or to represent the characters were shouting.


To be really honest with you guys, I really didn't like Nimona, even though she is our main character, and it's just bothering me so much as I was reading the book, She wasn't a character that are annoying or mean, but more like she is so mysterious and thinks highly of herself, not letting others know about her, always wanting to do things her way but ending up hurting herself instead. These things made me not like her personality and her character also. I really want to like her, but even until the end of the story, my hatred for her just kept rising, and she didn't leave a great impression of me even when I finished reading the book, although she did play a big part in the book.


Thing I hate but grew to like:

So I have to bring this out, when I first started reading this book, I wanted to just put it aside and not even give it a chance because of this aspect of the book, and that is the art style. I didn't enjoy the art style of it at all when I first started reading this book, and I nearly didn't give this book a chance because of that. However, I pushed through it, and I grew to like the art style as I read past a-third or close to half of the book. And to be honest, the art style really grew on me as I keep reading on.

All right, I guess that is all I have to say about this book, I really enjoyed reading it, and I would want a sequel to it, but I guess that won't be happening. This book really took an unexpected turn which I really liked, and this really make me want to read more graphic novels!


I hope this book review will make you guys want to read it even more, and I will end this blog post here. I hope you guys enjoyed reading this, and have fun reading the book! With this, happy reading guys!


=)