Book Review: One Dark Throne (Three Dark Crowns #2) by Kendare Blake

I hate this book so much! I did like the first book of this series and I was wishing that the story will be better the way book one ended. But, hell no. I was wrong. Instead of soring high like a falcon, the story went spiraling down like an ugly spoiled cheese in the toilet. I was shocked of how bad this book is. I did understand why the first book was so slow. I did understand the authors intention of that slow burning and agonizing read. It was done to prepare us on this so called epic things to happen on the second book. Epic what? Epic worst case scenario did! I hate this book! Why?

The characters were ok. Nothing special. But some really did get into my nerves. Not because they were the villains or something but they were these immature, self-centered and stupid brats who choose to have sex during war. Or choose to kiss the guys who cheated on them over saving lives. You get what I mean? These really for me are pathetic!

The writing style was a joke especially in the last part. I found it so hilarious like I can say that the book were almost like written by a third grader. The plots were so predictable. The plots were so forced and lame. These book was like a 90's Spanish telenovela told by your aunts added with a grain of fantasy. The fighting scenes were so funny that you can't feel a thrill but you will feel like it was comedy not action.

The story was a mess. I don't get it why people love the story! It was garbage! Nothing memorable or something that can leave a good impression! A total waste of resources like money and time. I just really hate this book. The ending was so pathetic like I can not believe that I am reading this. The writing style, weakest plot I have encountered n my life plus the cheesy and garbage story-- made me vomit all the words I have read from this book.

August 19, 2018 – Finished Reading

August 19, 2018 –

page 403

86.85% "This is almost garbage! I hate this book!"

August 19, 2018 –

page 201

43.32% "This is getting worse. Is this fantasy or a comedy? You know, everyone is dying and some characters chose to have sex. Wow! How lovely. This book is getting worse."

August 19, 2018 –

page 159

34.27%

August 18, 2018 –

page 142

30.6% "I am getting bored."

August 13, 2018 –

page 70

15.09%

August 13, 2018 – Started Reading 

I wished before reading this book that the world will become better. The plot will go big and blow us away. That the story will progress and will take us into this higher level of good dimension. After reading it, none of these wishes were granted. All were cursed and the complete opposites were given to me. I highly recommend to you guys, to avoid this book, and this series if you value your time and well-being.

Overall Rating: 6.3/10
Story: 6.1/10
Characters: 5.6/10
Entertainment: 8.0/10
Feels: 6.1/10
Overall Impact: 6.0/10

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Book Review: The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy #1)

I struggled reading this book. I admit that this is not a perfect read for me. I have so much hopes that this one will blow my mind because this was hyped in the booktube community for ever since it was released. I learned now, do not trust too much on these hypes. 

“Nahri always smiled at her marks.”

This is definitely an over-hyped books. But let us be clear, I am not saying that this is a bad read. I actually still recommend this one to you guys but with low expectations. The problem comes in, which in my case, is when you read this book with high expectations and you might end up unsatisfied and disappointed. So please, this is still a good read. Just lower your expectations and don't be a victim of these hypes in social medias.

This book is a breath of fresh air. It reminds me of a grown up or a mature Kane Chronicles by rick Riordan, the ones I used to enjoy back in high school. This is an adult fantasy with an Egyptian/ottoman background that will definitely give readers a fresh reading  experience. This book was creatively written and you cannot really not see how much research and passion the author put into this one. This is her debut novel and for that quality on a first book, she did amazing!

The book is full of new magic. The magic system is not that common and maybe entirely new to most of the readers. This might be a problem to some since it requires a lot of attention during the world building. Given the unfamiliarity of the magic system, the world and the other major elements, the book for me struggled in the world building. It was so slow and full of details that were so critical in the story that you as a reader should not miss. Now, in my experience I really found myself using Google to search for some terms that really does not ring a bell to me. I came to a point in the book that I was so confused and I considered not finishing it. 

August 17, 2018 – Finished Reading

August 17, 2018 –

page 368

69.04% "Such a slow burn. I hate to say this but I think I enjoyed And I Darken more than this one!"

August 16, 2018 –

page 277

51.97% "Starts to get better."

August 16, 2018 –

page 226

42.4% "If were to get the fantasy part of this book, this will be more like And I Darken."

August 16, 2018 –

page 192

36.02% "Very complicated and disappointing so far."

August 14, 2018 –

page 91

17.07%

August 14, 2018 – Started Reading 

Aside from that, the last thing I don't like about the book was the constriction of the things to happen. I felt that the story was so constricted and the author is really pulling back of the things that are yet to happen. I do understand that yes, there will be a second book, but as reader like us who just want what is the best from the book, do not deserve this. I felt like we were receiving a bargain quality of the book. I always felt that this book can be so much better if the author just went all the way. Gave us everything. Sad it did not happen. The story has a lot of potential, with these Game of Thrones like political intrigues, I can see this book getting big. 

I don't have anything bad to say about the characters. The characters were actually awesome. They were a lot of them but you'll get a grasp to each of them eventually. They might confuse you at the beginning with the type of names they have but their personalities and flaws will surely hook you and make you love them. The characters were definitely memorable. They will surely leave an impression.

I am still happy though on the experience I got from this book. I was taken into this world where I really found myself unfamiliar and lost. Like I traveled into an entirely different dimension. I love that feeling. This book took my breathes away several times. It is quite an intimidating read for it is a thick book but I assure you guys that this is worth the shot. This book will surely sizzle your inner fantasy fanatic. You will not regret reading this if you are looking for a mind blowing magic adventure with epic wild creatures and fresh world of fantasy!

Overall Rating: 9.3/10
Story: 9.1/10
Characters: 9.6/10
Entertainment: 9.0/10
Feels: 9.1/10
Overall Impact: 9.4/10

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Update #1: Reading Statistics 2018

In case you don't know, I have committed last December 2017 to read at least 100 books this year. I challenged myself and I admit it is quite ambitious given my job, school and other important matters I have to tend in my life. Yet, I still went for it and so far, honestly, I tagged myself as noob in achieving it. I am way too far from my goal. It is August already, past the two first quarters and I have not reach yet the 50% mark! I know, this is pretty bad. I will not give up though. I will still continue to push through this and see what happens by then end of this year. So ladies and gents, I present to you the reading statistics of the first 44 books I have read this year!

Genre

The genre of books I have read so far this year is not that diverse. I have read mostly fantasy fiction and a bunch also of science fiction. I am also quite surprise on the amount of contemporary novels I have read this year. They are more than my usual percentage of contemporary books I read in a year. I don't know why, I always say that I find contemporary books boring for they mostly lack this plot twists and other exciting elements that are present in the other genres. When it comes to non-fiction, I am definitely not doing okay. I have promised myself to read at least five of them this year and so far this August I have only read one and that is not even close to almost okay.

Age Range

Talking about the age range, I mostly read Young Adult book which is expected given my interests and age but I was shocked looking into this data that I have read a plenty of adult books also! I have not in my entire existence read an adult book years ago and look at me growing up in 2018. I was shocked to see this much of adult books! I am happy and proud of what I have accomplished. It is finally happening. You boy, is getting old.

Page Length

Yes! That is true. Your boy here is definitely raising the bar high compared the previous years. I am shocked too! I have read three books that are around 600-700 pages! Yes! I did! I am so proud of myself right now! I am sorry. This thing don't normally happen. If I am to recall, this is the first time in my reading life that I have read books more than 600 pages. Now, looking back at the graph, most of the books I have read are between 300 to 500 pages which are pretty much the length of some Young Adult books. But take a look at also and please appreciate the seven books that I have read that are more than 500 pages. They say thick books are to be called once they reach 500 pages and up. So, you boy here just read ten thick books this year. 

Number of Books

This is the first time also that I have read more than ten books within a month. January this year was definitely a crazy reading month. I just started this reading year with a bang! Look at those number and also look how they started to decline haha. You know, reading that much book consistently is very challenging. I have really struggled and let us admit it. I have other priorities too. For example, June, I have only read one book that time due to more important matters. At least this year, so far I have read a book in a month. I was pretty happy of these number so far and I know I have to still pick up the pace. 

So this is so far the reading statistics of my 2018 reading year. I am still pretty optimistic that I can get that 100 books this year but I am also open to other options like maybe trimming it down to 70 or 80. I don't know. I just have to be honest with you guys, this reading challenge is actually getting into the other aspects of my life and that means it starts to affect my efficiency to function on the other matters. I guess that is no longer normal or healthy. So I might be changing the 100 into a lower number soon. 

Book Review:Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

This book will surely be in my list of the best books I have read this year. Believe it or not, I can confidently say that this is ten times better the SVTHSA by Becky Albertalli. This book reminds me of The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, for it not just only talks about one of the serious dilemmas our society have today, it also speaks how beautiful life is, if you grow up with an epic and awesome family.

I do have a lot of things that I would like to stress out on why I love this book so much. But I tried to categorize to narrow them down, and I ended up with: characters, story and impact to the readers and society. Without further a do, let us begin.

“Love fails for a million reasons - distance, infidelity, pride, religion, money, illness. Why is this story any more worthy?
It felt like it was. It felt important. Living in this town is suffocating in so many ways.
But if a tree falls in the woods, maybe it makes no sound.
And if a boy falls for the bishop's closeted son, maybe it makes no story.”

First up are the characters. Ok, straight forward, the characters were awesome! They were flawed and they seem to connect to me instantly. I just found myself inside their heads and hearts without any efforts. I just admire how the authors, yes, authors. Christina Lauren is made up of two authors, Christina and Lauren. So going back, yes! The characters were amazing! They felt so real and they were so well made that I can just hang out with them anytime. I do feel that the characters knew them personally. Like these characters really exist in real life. You know what I mean? This book will be laying out characters full of emotions and personalities. Characters with flaws and talents that will make you sad, happy and feel romantic.

August 12, 2018 – Finished Reading

August 10, 2018 –

page 106

26.04% "Realistic"

August 6, 2018 – Started Reading

January 26, 2018 – Shelved as: to-read

January 26, 2018 – Shelved 

Talking about the romance, the story as a whole was great. It was romantic, light and fun at the beginning. You will get this vibrant and colorful feel at the first few chapters. It is like the world in the book never encountered rain, for it always feel sunny, windy and it just makes you feel relax. The story then rises up as you get down to almost half of the book. Things now gets really interesting but it still has this complete attachment to the mood it laid at the first part. The story will definitely make you question a lot of things around you and makes you really appreciate the people in your life. The story offers readers a chance to experience how parents should take care of their children at worst and most uncomfortable times. This book will also make you appreciate your friends and really define the value of companionship, support system and trust.

The book also delivers impactful message not just to the mind of readers but to the soul of the society they are living in. The book gave me the same impact of what The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas gave me back in January. If THUG tackles issued like racism and police violence, this book by Christina and Lauren tackles the complicated life of people in LGBTQ community especially when religion starts to play.

This book was not just emotionally heavy to the readers but it is though provoking. It will really make you think of things around you and questions things that could probably become if loving was not ruled by anything. It will really make you question what loving is without bounds set by religion. It will make you question what loving is without pressures from expectations of the society.

This book really is a must read. If you are really looking for a happy, light, romantic, queer, thought provoking read with full of awesome characters and great writing style, then this must be the book you have been looking for!

Overall Rating: 9.9/10
Story: 10/10
Characters: 9.8/10
Entertainment: 9.8/10
Feels: 10/10
Overall Impact: 9.9/10

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Book Review: And I Darken (The Conqueror's Saga #1) by Kiersten White

I do really have a lot of things to say about this book. I love this book as much as I hate it. It feels weird. I am not saying that this book is bad but I am not also saying that I enjoyed reading it. I am really confuse, probably because the book made me.

“Some victories are merely defeat wearing the wrong clothing”

I don't know where to start. So, okay. First up, the characters. They were average. I mean they were made with sophistication and was really molded consistently all through out the book. There were some that you get to love, hate or love and hate. But, I guess the author just failed to really build or let us just say strengthen the connections of these characters with each other. I just felt that they were amazing individually but their interactions and the way they converse to each other were (almost all but not all) forgettable. Some of you might disagree because of these peculiar love triangle and crazy relationships but I did not really buy it.

The plots were predictable. Sadly, I predicted al of them. Accurately. You know, I just hate it when I found out that I am right (talking about plot guessing). I want books that will really prove me wrong and will really blow my mind. Sadly, this one failed me.

August 6, 2018 – Finished Reading

August 6, 2018 –

page 378

73.83% "Getting better"

August 5, 2018 –

page 206

40.23% "So far, the world building is really slow."

August 5, 2018 – Shelved

August 5, 2018 – Started Reading

The entire book was okay. I don't hate it. I will still recommend it. It started really slow but we need to give it to the author for this massive world building bravado. I just feel that this book has a lot of potential. It could have been gone into something big. This really felt short. I feel bad that the potential was not utilized to the fullest. There is something that is lacking in this book. Like a flare or finesse. If this book is a dish, it lacks some spice to pop it up and give the diner that extra kick.

Overall, this book was worth the read. But I just want to warn you that you just have to lower your expectations on this one. This is a miss or hit. For me it hit me but it did not leave a good impression. I am still looking forward to read the next installment because I have been hearing a lot of good things about it. Hopefully, that one will not disappoint.

If you are looking for an epic Game or Thrones vibe read with schemes and back stabbing and a little bit of action and manipulation, this might entertain you. 

Overall Rating: 8.3/10
Story: 8.8/10
Characters: 7.9/10
Entertainment: 8.2/10
Feels: 8.1/10
Overall Impact: 8.3/10

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