Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

This book has left me conflicted because it was awesome but a different kind of awesome than I was expecting. The blurb sounds incredible and based off it, I was expecting a Stardust-esque series of attempted murders between the siblings. In actual fact the attempts to kill each other aren't even allowed to begin until almost the end of the book. Instead what you get is a beautifully-crafted fantasy world with fairly compelling characters and a grand sense of epicness.

Each of the three princesses is focused on in turn and the chapters rotate, which is a mixed blessing. As with any book that chooses this style, you inevitably find one storyline more interesting than the other. However, all three of the princesses are intriguing or likeable enough to keep you wanting to read about them and I liked how each of them developed. I found Arsinoe to be the one who suffers the most-unfortunately the side characters steal the spotlight in her story and she fails to have as distinct a personality as the others. This is something that is fixed near the end of the book/in the sequel though.

I think the strongest aspect of this book is indeed the world and the way the author tells the fantasy story. As I mentioned, there is a sense of an epic story building and this is maintained incredibly well. You are initially fascinated by the world itself, then become emotionally invested due to the characters which is the perfect blend. Without saying too much, the book ends exceptionally and it made me grab the sequel instantly to see what would happen next. It also manages to pull off a twist you don't see coming but makes perfect sense afterwards, and develops the story rather than being just for shock value. Until the ending, I was annoyed this book wasn't a standalone and felt that the plot should be wrapped up by the end of it. I still would have preferred a standalone but that ending alone made me happy there were more.

All in all, I did absolutely adore this book. Am I disappointed it wasn't what I thought? Yes, but only because I was so excited for that imaginary story. Thankfully Three Dark Crowns is a fantastic book in its own right and I am definitely going to read the rest of the series. If you want a well-built fantasy with some dark elements thrown in, this is definitely for you.

Overall Rating:

.5

A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares by Krystal Sutherland

Oh boy, this was a really tough book to get into. This is the perfect example of the kind of book which irritates me. At the start, every single character is so impossibly quirky that I genuinely almost stopped reading. If you manage to plough through then this is toned down a little bit but these characters are still very much more quirk than personality. Esther is particularly unbearable. She dresses up as a different character each day and I just couldn't find what little personality she had relatable at all. Jonah is better but unfortunately, he is the best it gets.

Once that awful beginning section is over, the book does improve a little. I still struggle to understand what it is trying to say though. So the blurb implies a little magical realism and the story makes it very unclear if this is the case or not for quite some time. This is definitely not a strength. I dislike the way it portrays mental illness and I especially don't like that everyone is Esther's life has their own unique quirky brand of mental illness either. Her mum is a compulsive gambler, her dad is agoraphobic, her brother is afraid of the dark-even her best friend is mute but only to Esther.

There is a distinct lack of people trying to deal with their problems in this book, even after Jonah comes into Esther's life to magically help her fix everything. The characters are extremely damaging to Esther because of their mental health (for example, her mother loses all of their money and her 'best friend' refuses to physically speak around only her but will talk to everyone else) and this is done particularly badly. There isn't really a sympathetic portrayal of those being so awful to Esther, and yet Esther doesn't try to convince them to seek help or anything and just kind of accepts the behaviour as it is. It's the worst of both worlds.

Overall, I did grow to enjoy reading this book but there are so many problems with it that I find it difficult to recommend. It is pretty unique in both story and style, and there is enough to keep you reading if you can get through the unbearable quirkiness being rammed down your throat. It's just a shame that it fails to deliver on so many levels.

Overall Rating:

.5

The Murders of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson

I have reluctantly tagged this book as 'horror' due to Goodreads and several reviews on there insisting that this book is scary. It really isn't.

I don't get this book. I heard such rave reviews about it and the premise sounds so interesting and yet the execution is bland and weirdly distant. I get a vague Frankenstein vibe from it which I guess could be a good thing but something isn't quite right about the tone. For starters, the author manages to make a story about a girl constantly spawning murderous clones boring. That in itself is kind of impressive. They also manage to create a novella with very little plot and no real resolution. Combined with a lack of character depth, why is this so popular again?

Okay, so my main issue with this book is that it didn't make me feel anything. The main character is extremely flat and distant, and there's absolutely no emotional reaction from her to anything. Again, maybe this was meant to reflect how traumatic her life is and how it's ruined her? But we start with her as a child and she is just as lifeless then. At no point did I feel like I understood Molly's actions or was worried for her wellbeing. All the potentially interesting things that could stem from this idea remain unremarked upon. What happens if a clone murders her? We never find out. Why is this happening? We kind of find out in the most unsatisfactory way. What the heck does the opening/ending mean? The author decided to just stop so we're definitely not finding that out. It's all so disappointing.

The more I reflect on this book, the more I find to dislike about it. It's not particularly bad or enraging, it's just kind of hollow and ultimately pointless. Even for a novella, there's very little to it. The book equivalent of eating a rice cracker.

Overall Rating:

Lost Boy by Christina Henry

So I had a very good reason to hate this book. This year I attempted NaNoWriMo and my original idea was to write a horror version of Peter Pan. I got about 2,000 words in, decided to check my emails and there was an email from Goodreads about voting for the best books of the year. I see this cover and my heart drops.

There goes my idea.

Thankfully for me, this book is actually not a horror at all, despite Goodreads telling me it is. Also thankfully, it turns out to be one of my favourite books of the year against all odds. Lost Boy is indeed the story of Captain Hook, although that is more of an inevitable conclusion than the actual plot. What it actually is is the story of the very first Lost Boy and what the reality of that is. Jamie is our protagonist and (excluding the prologue which frankly, is pretty badly written) from the first chapter, I was just sucked in by his character. It's hard for me to describe why the writing style works so well because it's actually extraordinarily simple. That's part of the brilliance though-it is unclear how old Jamie is meant to be, but this is undoubtedly the voice of a child. However, it's not irritating or dumbed down in order to portray that.

The plot itself is again simple, but this is a book that is all about atmosphere. It is a lot less dark than I was led to believe but that doesn't mean there isn't a subtle sense of doom embedded in every page. I really enjoyed how the author handled Peter Pan and slowly revealed piece by piece just how messed up their world was. It reminded me a lot of Only Ever Yours in that sense, and it was similarly well done. Though you know Jamie is destined to become Hook, the plot is not obvious in how it will progress and I must admit I didn't see several things coming, though in hindsight they make perfect sense. My one minor niggle is that I didn't like the equation of romantic attraction and adulthood. I liked Sal as a character but it felt a little forced and ultimately, didn't add too much to the story in my eyes. I understand completely what the author was going for and I liked the twist of a lost girl, but the romance felt out of place and I don't think the book would have suffered without it.

It is so refreshing for me to pick up a book like this which I might have otherwise ignored, and find such enjoyment from it. I had never heard of this author but she has done a version of Alice in Wonderland which I will probably have to read now. As I said, this has quickly become one of my favourite books of the year and I would love for more people to read it.

Overall Rating:

.5

Shameless NaNoWriMo Post

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

*Mild spoilers ahead*

This book absolutely fascinated me. I had forgotten the blurb by the time I actually got round to reading it so I didn't know it was set in an alternate universe. Once I got over that initial surprise, I enjoyed every second.

The idea behind this book is very simple but extremely well-explored. People get calls from Death-Cast on the day they're going to die, letting them know they have a maximum of 24 hours left. No one ever survives this period and no one dies without getting a call. The book focuses on the two protagonists (Rufus and Mateo) who meet on their last day and decide to spend it together doing various things. However, the author also has occasional chapters about other people which are always brief but very well-written. It is through these cleverly-woven chapters that a lot of the concept is explored and it really is impressive how unobtrusive they are. It is so hard for an author to create a concept like this and fully explore it but at the end of this book, you're not left with many questions.

The two protagonists are a joy to read about. They absolutely came to life for me and knowing the tragedy of the situation, you become very invested in learning about who they are. Maybe some could argue that their romance is forced or rushed but for me, it was paced perfectly and I did believe it. The side characters aren't bad but apart from the three main Plutos, I wasn't that intrigued or invested in them. I didn't get Aimee in particular and Lidia just felt like she got in the way a bit once she was forced into the main story/ However, these are all minor complaints.

Was it perfect? No. But I was absolutely glued to my seat through every word of this novel. The ending I had mixed feelings on. [Highlight to see] Mateo's death was the kind of tragic thing I do enjoy but also it was so crushing to have him die essentially from stupidity. Rufus' was much better done and a good way to end the book, albeit a bit abrupt.

Overall, this is a beautifully-written book and one I am thoroughly impressed with. I enjoyed it much more than History is All You Left Me which is admittedly similar in themes and tone. I cannot recommend you read it enough, as a perfect example of how to create a world and concept if not for the characters and emotion.

Overall Rating:

.5

The One by Kiera Cass

*Spoilers Ahead*

Urgh, why can't I stop? The One is much more of the same, and if you've read my other reviews then you already know how I feel about this series. However, this is the book that tries to ramp up the whole dystopian/drama aspect. Unfortunately it falls really flat.

So yeah, this book has the exact same problem as the last one. America clearly loves Maxon. Why hasn't she picked him yet? Well, in this one it's because she refuses to be the first one to say 'I love you'! Yep, we've reached that level. Aspen doesn't even feature as a love interest really, except to mess everything up because the prince FINALLY finds out he was the one America used to love. Yes, it's executed terribly and leads to drama at the worst possible point.

So that thing with her dad finally paid off kind of. He was a rebel all along which was obvious from the book scene in the second book. He also dies, although the two events are unrelated. Also the fact he was a rebel is never mentioned again and isn't relevant to the plot at all. But hey, dystopian!

My main issue with this book is the attempt at a dramatic ending. Okay, so a bunch of characters get killed off in a rebel attack and then they're NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN. Like, the king and queen are but not America's head maid, not Celeste, not other people who probably died who I can't remember because the book didn't mourn them at all. It was very jarring in a series with such a track record of lovely and nice characters to have them just kind of forget about the dead and return to happy wedding fluff. I was particularly annoyed about Celeste because she was finally developed into an interesting character and then she's just dismissed by the narrative.

On the whole yes, this is a series which has just gotten worse and worse. I can't deny that I've really enjoyed reading it though and I am going to pick up the sequels. They're so quick to read and just easy. I've read far far worse YA that takes itself far more seriously and I'm not going to hate on a series for being fluffy and sweet. Not when the ride has been this fun anyway!

Overall Rating:

The Elite by Kiera Cass

So I picked up the fast-food equivalent of books again. And yes, once again I loved every second of it. Admittedly I am starting to see how this series could be annoying-the main character is frustratingly indecisive purely to keep the 'who will she pick' mystery going, although to be fair there is also some genuine conflict. One thing I do love is that this world truly stays happy the entire time. There are several things in this that I think are going to develop into huge problems but nope. For example, there's a secret library the prince shares with America and then when the rebels break in, it's implied they knew where it was. I expected this to lead to her being suspected as a traitor but thankfully that never happens. Missed opportunity? Maybe but I like this world as least-stressful as possible.

Aspen continues to be annoying to me, mainly because I don't really buy his and America's romance in this. There is a point where the prince seems to have a darker side but then it's revealed he's even sweeter than ever and really, why hasn't she picked him? It's painfully obvious she loves him more and this does suffer from more of the irritating dragging out.

However, as a sequel I can't really fault this. It offers much of the same from the first, it attempts to world-build a little more and the personalities of the other girls get developed slightly. Overall, I enjoyed it less than the first but only slightly. At least it doesn't lose any points for not being a standalone like the first.

Overall Rating:

.5

The Choice by Samantha King

ABSOLUTELY HAS SPOILERS AHEAD. It's okay, this one sucks.

This is one of the messiest books I have ever read. I don't understand how it got this way either because the basic premise (woman picks which child gets killed when a psycho breaks into her house) is good. Not very original but certainly a solid basis for a thriller. Unfortunately the book isn't actually about that.

Okay, so the best way to explain the plot of this book is to summarize each of the three parts separately because really, they're a different story:

Part 1-A woman struggles to live with the guilt she feels for choosing one of her children to die. Unfortunately she can't talk (because none of this is real) which means she doesn't actually have any interesting interactions with anyone. Instead we get internal monologuing interspersed with flashbacks.

Part 2-A woman wakes up from a coma. *gasp* None of part 1 was real! Nothing much happens here until we build up to the 'twist' that her daughter isn't actually dead because the weird choice scenario didn't happen like she imagined it in her coma dream (see what I mean about messy?). This twist is entirely obvious due to no one mentioning her daughter's death at all during this whole section.

Part 3-The main character is kidnapped by her husband who was the masked gunman (again, this is painfully obvious). A vague and badly paced showdown occurs. The woman lives with her two children, the end.

The biggest theme of this book is 'missed opportunities'. So part 1 has the main character be mute as an attempt at foreshadowing the fact that she's not really there/it's some weird coma dream. I as a reader don't care about this however because where is the premise offered by the blurb? I expected a book dealing with the main character's guilt at being forced to choose which child to die, an examination of why she chose that child and MOST IMPORTANTLY, other peoples' reactions to it! What would her husband say to her? Her surviving child? Her friends? All of this is completely lost for the sake of a twist which means that none of it matters anyway.

Similarly, by having the twist at the end of part 2 be so incredibly obvious, it unfortunately means that none of this section really matters either. None of her thoughts about her dead daughter are valid because her daughter isn't dead. So now we're two thirds of the way through the book and nothing so far matters.

It's really sad because there is some good stuff in this book. Not the pacing or plotting because that's always awful, but the actual style of writing isn't terrible. The characters as well are believable and had the potential to be compelling. I like the story of the romance between her and her husband, even if I hate the way it's revealed. And again, that initial seed of the idea could have made for a really good thriller. Instead, we just have the worst kind of mess.

Overall Rating:

The Selection by Kiera Class

Sooo I was fully expecting this book to be trash. I mean, have you read the blurb? That cover is gorgeous but with a main character called America Singer, my hopes can only soar so high. And yet, to my utter bewilderment I really enjoyed this book. Not in a 'so bad it's good' kind of way but in a genuine, 'want to read more' way.

Don't get me wrong, this book is not high art. I read so many negative Goodreads reviews before picking this up that I was preparing for a snarkfest. But there is something so happy and enjoyable about these characters. The protagonist is a nice person, the prince is a nice person, even most of the competing girls are nice people. I didn't find any of them annoying with the exception of Aspen, the 'other' love interest. Even then, he wasn't so much annoying as he just got in the way a bit of my lovely fluffy romance.

However, I do have one major major issue with this book-it doesn't have an ending. As in, literally nothing is resolved by the end and we are stuck with a literal 'TO BE CONTINUED'. I am not okay with that. I don't care how many sequels you've planned, each book should have its own goddamn satisfactory conclusion. This sin was big enough for me to knock my rating down an entire star because I don't understand how an author or publishing company could be this cocky about people picking up two books to get the plot of one. Seriously not cool.

Overall, can I understand why this book might not be everyone's cup of tea? Yes, absolutely. It is fluff pure and simple, a love story about girls in pretty dresses trying to win the affections of a prince. Also there's a love triangle and the barest hint of world-building in an attempt to qualify it as a dystopia.  However, I am genuinely baffled by all the hate this book is receiving because honestly, it's just so nice and unassuming. Ultimately I like reading books about decent people and there just aren't enough of them in YA fiction.

They should have written a freaking ending though.

Overall Rating:

Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody

This book has such a cool premise! One girl's make believe family being killed off one by one in a world of fantasy and magic...excellent stuff. And for the most part, it lives up to it! For almost the entirety of this book, I was fully invested in the storyline and I desperately wanted to read more.

Unfortunately, this book seriously suffers in the last third. As more of the solution is revealed, it just becomes confusing in a badly-written way. The identity of the killer was extremely obvious to me, although there is a secondary twist which I didn't see coming and I thought worked very well. Without giving too much away, part of the climax also involves a character which appears so infrequently I genuinely had no idea who they were, despite the narrative trying to tell me it was a big reveal. The result isn't...great.

However, this book is definitely still worth reading. All the characters are extremely well fleshed-out and they're all so unique. I can honestly say this didn't remind me of anything else I've ever read and that can only be a good thing. It also gets major points for representation-the main character is bisexual with an asexual love interest, many of the side characters are also non-hetero and the fantasy city seems suitably diverse in terms of ethnicity too. I was so happy to read such a casual portrayal of an asexual love interest, even if it wasn't quite perfect.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book. The protagonist is interesting and intelligent, the plot really sucks you in and the world-building element is also well done. This is so much better than I was expecting from a YA book and I could not stop talking about it to people whilst I was reading it. No book is perfect but this is certainly up there.

Overall Score:

The Silver Eyes by Scott Cawthon

Honestly, what can you expect from a book based off a video game? A pretty good horror story it turns out. Five Nights at Freddy's has admittedly always been a game series with a solid plot, if only you bother to look closer. I myself have enjoyed watching countless Youtube videos on the lore, which is why I knew I had to pick this book up. My expectations were extremely low but I was pleasantly surprised. Not only does this add valuable insight to the games, it actually stands alone as a reasonably enjoyable story.

Don't get me wrong, the main enjoyment gleamed from this book is the way it sheds light on events from the game. There are many things in here that probably won't make any sense if you have absolutely no knowledge of the games whatsoever, and likewise it explains things that had no explanation in the games themselves. They follow separate continuities (allegedly) but honestly I could fit them together pretty well. It did give me unrealistic hopes for the plot of Sister Location but I'll try not to go too off tangent.

Back to the book as a book, it's a fairly basic horror. The characters are slightly more fleshed out than they needed to be but they are by no means hugely compelling. They have their own personalities though and I did care for them so it managed to do that much. The villain is chilling, as are the animatronics. I will say that there's not much action to be found and that is slightly disappointing. If you want tons of deaths or varied attacks from the Freddy's crew, you're going to be let down. The main threat comes from the springlocks, which was threat enough for me but might not be what people are hoping for. Again, my sense of horror was linked so closely to my knowledge from the games that some of this might be lost if you've never played them. Then again, who is going to read this never having played the games?

Overall, The Silver Eyes is a decent if not groundbreaking book. I've heard complaints that it is too long but it seems a pretty standard length to me. I would definitely recommend it to add some depth to the lore of the games, and for anyone looking for an easy read. A part of me is genuinely excited to read the sequel so they must be doing something right!

Overall Score:

History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

Let me start this review by saying this is an extremely well-written book. I want to get that out there because honestly, it's hard for me to articulate what I thought of this book and I want to sing its praises before I seem too negative. All the characters in this book are so compelling and fleshed out and it's because of this that the emotions created are so strong. The author skates dangerously close to 'John Green' syndrome (pretentious characters that don't speak or act like real people) but skilfully manages to avoid it. I spent almost this entire book feeling like it should be irritating me and yet finding myself unable to put it down.

History is All You Left Me is the story of Griff, a gay teenager dealing with the sudden death of his ex-boyfriend and best friend Theo. It addresses his regret at initially ending the relationship when Theo went off to college, as well as his mixed feelings towards Theo's current boyfriend Jackson. This is utterly unlike any other book I have ever read plotwise and that certainly helped it a lot. It also has a very subversive plot compared to typical YA romance. While admittedly I did see most of the 'twists' coming, I probably wouldn't if I were the intended audience and I thought they were handled very cleverly. All the 'twists' were incredibly understated and woven very naturally into the narrative, so that even if I had found them surprising I would not have been rudely jerked out of the story. The fact remains that this book tells the kind of love story not often seen in YA fiction and it felt very mature and realistic because of it. I loved that Griff also got over his first love and had to cope with his guilt about that fact, despite being very close with Theo still.

Aaaaand now for the negatives. As much as I did enjoy this book, there were several elements that felt...off. I absolutely HATED (spoilered though you can guess from the back) the fact that Griff and Jackson slept together. It didn't really seem to fit in with the plot or characters and honestly, I think it's something the author had in mind from the start but didn't adapt once he actually started writing it. I also found it hard to identify with Griff a lot of the time. He just seemed to make bad decision after bad decision with no real self-awareness/attempt to rectify these bad decisions. Having said that, I did enjoy his character a lot. I think the only character that didn't seem all that well-developed was Wayne who was another of the slightly-off elements.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book. It is commendable alone for the positive and varied portrayal of LGBT teens/relationships, but it is also so much more than that. A fascinating book and one I will not be forgetting in a hurry.

Overall Score: