Book Review: Flamecaster (Shattered Realms #1) by Cinda Williams Chima

This is a great and promising start for an epic series. Chima impressed me with her straight forward writing style and vast and interesting imagination.

The book was not perfect. It was very entertaining and full of plots that do not demand heavy analysis. Overall it was a good read with plenty elements that need improvements. The character was bland, the writing style was mediocre, the plots were predictable but the magic system and the world of the Seven Realms were captivating.

“The problem is, hope is the thing that can’t be reined in by rules or pinned down by bitter experience. It’s a blessing and curse.” 

The characters for me was okay, They were not memorable or outstanding. I felt that they need more improvement. Almost all characters lack personality. You can distinguish them according to their roles and physical characteristics but on emotional and traits beyond these, the characters went blank. I just wished they were a little bit more of themselves, like a pinch of personality here and there and they would be perfect. 

April 14, 2018 – Finished Reading

April 14, 2018 – 

page 296

 

 52.86% "so far so good"

April 14, 2018 – Started Reading

December 18, 2017 – Shelved as: to-read

December 18, 2017 – Shelved

The writing style was a little bit out of my comfort zone. I am not used to read books with this kind of perspective. It was hard for me at first but I got used to it quickly page after page. The author me was not playing games. She wrote a book with less drama and just went for the real deal as quickly as possible. The author gave me a story that was not dragging. A story that entertained me and kept me thinking magical things for hours.

Book Review: The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

“But boys will be boys, our favorite phrase that excuses so many things, while the only thing we have for the opposite gender is women, said with disdain and punctuated with an eye roll.”

OVERALL RATING: 9.3/10

            STORY: 9.0/10

            CHARACTERS: 9.8/10

            THE FEELS: 9.1/10

            ENTERTAINMENT: 8.7/ 10

PLOT: 8.8/10

Alex Craft knows how to kill someone. And she doesn’t feel bad about it. Three years ago, when her older sister, Anna, was murdered and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best—the language of violence. While her own crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people. Not with Jack, the star athlete who wants to really know her but still feels guilty over the role he played the night Anna’s body was discovered. And not with Peekay, the preacher’s kid with a defiant streak who befriends Alex while they volunteer at an animal shelter. Not anyone. As their senior year unfolds, Alex’s darker nature breaks out, setting these three teens on a collision course that will change their lives forever.

Reading Progress:

April 11, 2018 – Finished Reading April 8, 2018 –  page 100    28.41% "I am having a hard time appreciating the multiple perspectives." April 3, 2018 –  page 49    13.92% April 3, 2018 – Shelved April 3, 2018 – Started Reading January 1, 2018 – Shelved as: to-read (Hardcover Edition) January 1, 2018 – Shelved (Hardcover Edition)

Review:

This book was full of violence and depression. I expected that this book will give me a vibrant and cutesy vibe--but it gave me the complete opposite.

This book was very short but I end up reading it in a span of almost a week. I am currently in my reading slump or maybe worse than that. This book surprised me and I did quite like it. 

Most Anticipated Release #1: April 2018

I currently think that the first quarter of 2018 is quite dry for good books. I have appreciated the Cruel Prince by Holly Black but other than that, there is nothing more worth to be appreciated. I am currently on a reading slump but that does not stop me in anticipating the upcoming epic books to be released within this year or earlier of 2019. The following are the books I am looking forward to be given birth into this world.

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

I always hate books with slow or dragging plots. I am currently reading Tempest and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce and even though I really love the characters but the very slow and dragging turn of events is killing me. It has been  two weeks and I am still 52% done on the book. Now, on the blogs I follow, I have heard those that read Sky in the Deep through advance readers copy that this is probably one of the most fast paced and completely not dragging books so far this year. Hearing that from them, this book is considered sold to me.

Stormcaster by Cindy Williams Chima

This is the third book of the author's Shattered Realm series and I cannot wait to get my hands to it as soon as possible. This book was actually released last April 3rd yet this is still not available in my country. I am currently reading the first installment of the series, Flamecaster, and I cannot wait to continue reading and finish the series. I hope that this book will be available the moment I finished reading the second one.

Furyborn by Claire Legend

This is one of the most anticipated books this year according to most of the vlogs I follow. The entire book community are eyeing the release of this book on May 22nd. This is the first book of the series and it will deliver fallen angels with epic powers and political intrigue plots. I am pretty excited to experience the surprises this book stored for the world, I hope it will live up to our expectations.

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

I love Simon versus the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky and it is probably one of the most memorable read I have for a very long time. After reading her famous piece, I cannot wait to experience again her awesome writing style on her new book Leah on the Offbeat which will be released on April 24.  I am pretty sure that this will be embraced by the readers with wide arms. I cannot wait!

The Wicked King by Holly Black

I am not a fan of stories with fairies on it but the queen of fairies, Holly Black, changed my mind on her epic piece The Cruel Prince which was released earlier this year. I have read the book back in February and I gave it 5 out of 5 stars. It was compelling and it left me wanting for more---the second book The Wicked King. This book will be available earlier next year and please do read the Cruel Prince, it will be worth it. 

Wildcard by Marie Lu

Warcross was one of the most entertaining read last year. I have read it last December and I loved how it was related to Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. The book was not perfect but it was enough to leave me wanting for more pages. The second book Wildcard will be released this September 18 and I am looking forward to see how the story continues.

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

The second book to one of my  favorite and probably the best books I have read not just this year but in my entire life, Strange the Dreamer. I cannot stop talking about that book after I finished reading it last January (book review here) for it was really epic. I am a fan of Laini Taylor because of that and I am dying waiting for the second book of one of the best books released in 2017. The wait it killing me but October 2,2018 is a day to be celebrated.

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Books I Wish I Own Now #2: April 2018 (Birthday Wish)

It is really good to have books and at the same time it is very fulfilling to buy yourself some. The happiness you feel every time you acquire fresh pages from your beloved bookstores are one of those feelings that is so divine and irreplaceable. In line with this appreciation is the fact that it is not also good in a long run spending cash on books--for the sole reason-- they are in fact really expensive, But, at the end of the day, it is just knowing what really matters--- your priorities. Most of the time, mine are books.

So my birthday is fast approaching and the millennial in me is screaming to come out of the cage and cast a wish to the magical well of the books I wish I will own as soon as possible. These are the following:

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

I have read the Darker Shade of Magic (the first of the series) last February and I loved it. I cannot wait to get my hands on the second installment of the series but there were barriers. First, just a trivia, The Darker Shade of Magic paperback copy of mine is the most expensive paperback I ever have up to this moment. That is no different to the second one. So, you see, spending money on a paperback knowing the fact that you can purchase two or three more books for the same price is a dilemma. Second, is that there is currently no available copies of the book here in our country and I have to order it overseas, adding more to the problematic price.

Far From the Tree by Robin Ben

This book took the world by storm. If there is one book that can level with the same quality to that of The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, this will be the only book. Published last year, this book made itself known and I am very eager to know why.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Another epic contemporary that I am looking forward to have in my hands is this beautiful and heart-warming book by Celeste Ng. I have heard a lot of wonderful reviews and praises from the book community about this book. This has been on my anticipated reads for a long time now, but I cannot still grab a copy for it is very expensive.

Start with Why by Simon Sinek

I was lately blessed in my job and it resulted for me to hunt a copy of this book. I have seen only Know you Why by the author in our local bookstore and it seems impossible to get my hands to this one. I wish I have them now, so that I can start reading it and ----grow into someone better. But, seriously, I need help. I have to read this book as soon as possible.

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Book Review: Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

"They weren't meant to be broken.

They were meant for the broken"

OVERALL RATING: 8.8/10

            STORY: 9.1/10

            CHARACTERS: 8.5/10

            THE FEELS: 8.8/10

            ENTERTAINMENT: 8.7/ 10

PLOT: 9.2/10

Or, you can call it a gun. That’s what fifteen-year-old Will has shoved in the back waistband of his jeans. See, his brother Shawn was just murdered. And Will knows the rules. No crying. No snitching. Revenge. That’s where Will’s now heading, with that gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, the gun that was his brother’s gun. He gets on the elevator, seventh floor, stoked. He knows who he’s after. Or does he? 

As the elevator stops on the sixth floor, on comes Buck. Buck, Will finds out, is who gave Shawn the gun before Will took the gun. Buck tells Will to check that the gun is even loaded. And that’s when Will sees that one bullet is missing. And the only one who could have fired Shawn’s gun was Shawn. Huh. Will didn’t know that Shawn had ever actually used his gun. Bigger huh. BUCK IS DEAD. But Buck’s in the elevator?
Just as Will’s trying to think this through, the door to the next floor opens. A teenage girl gets on, waves away the smoke from Dead Buck’s cigarette. Will doesn’t know her, but she knew him. Knew. When they were eight. And stray bullets had cut through the playground, and Will had tried to cover her, but she was hit anyway, and so what she wants to know, on that fifth floor elevator stop, is, what if Will, Will with the gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, MISSES.
And so it goes, the whole long way down, as the elevator stops on each floor, and at each stop someone connected to his brother gets on to give Will a piece to a bigger story than the one he thinks he knows. A story that might never know an END…if WILL gets off that elevator. 

REVIEW:

This is a very thought-provoking book. A short read but will give you a lot to think about our society for days. This book deserves the hype and I can not imagine myself not recommending this to mt friends.

I love The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, and this book gave me the same feels Miss Angie's masterpiece. I was really hooked from the first page till the last one, finishing the book in one sitting. I was also impressed how this book was written in poetry. The message was strong and it was really well written.

The characters were not that great but they were acceptable for a good book standard. The plot was realistic and intriguing. The story and how it is really true to reality was the one the captured me. This a book that will give you a heavy heart and lessons to ponder. A beautifully crafted piece that screams attention, reflection and appreciation.

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