Movie Review: Vampire Academy

I am one of the biggest Vampire Academy fans out there I think. I have been in love with the whole series since about 2009? I honestly don't remember exactly when I first read the book but I remember crying and laughing and loving this whole world. I even remember finishing the very last page of the last book and crying my eyes out.

Anyway. I wasn't at all happy that a movie was being made, first off all there are far too many books in the series; second of all there is too much going on in each of the books to be squished into a 104 minute long film.
There were things that were okay during the movie but I didn't enjoy it. I never expected to enjoy the movie. It was okay...

The Actors 
I'm sure individually they are all great actors and have done fantastic things. But seriously. I would never have pictured Lucy Fry as Lissa; not in a million years, her adaptation of the princess was so bland and rather boring. I have never even heard of Danila Kozlovsky who played the handsome Dimitri Belikov. Again his acting and portrayal of the hot teacher was nothing like I pictured. First of all I think Danila was a poor choice as he doesn't exactly look like the character, not only that but he seemed to have a stick up his crap hole most of the movie. I know that Dimitri is all serious and business but in the books we get to see him be fun and not at all boring! The only person that I think was able to capture the character was Dominic Sherwood who played Christian Ozera. I don't know if it was because he wasn't in the movie that much or if he was the only actor who looked up what the character was like.

And don't even get me started on how they interacted with each other. This was meant to be a film not a high school play gone terribly wrong.

The Comedy
Mark Waters who produced Mean Girls, Freaky Friday ect was in charge of this movie. As much as I love comedies, making VA one was the biggest mistake that could have possibly been done. The story is about friendship, and family and an ancient race of vampires not about who can make the most jokes in a minute. Rose's character was the worst. I have never seen a worst adaptation of a character! In the books Rose is a funny, sometimes arrogant girl who puts her bestfriend before anything! Whereas in the movie she's an annoying teenage girl who just wants to crack wise jokes and try to make fun of literally everything! I still cannot believe that this was made into a comedy! It's insane.

The whole vampire business
Ever since Twilight, Vampire Diaries and True Blood made everyone sick of vampires (not me) I think the producers and writers of this movie tried to take a comedy spin on the whole vampire things. AGAIN. A BAD MISTAKE. At the beginning Rose mentions Twilight and how Moroi don't sparkle. That wasn't at all necessary, not mentioning it would have actually made the movie slightly better.

The voice over
As I mentioned before, a lot of things happen in the books. There are also people that are stupid enough that go and see the movie without reading the books (and yes I am being a hypocrite as I have seen a movie without reading the book first before) Therefore a lot of things needed to be explained in a short amount of time. Was it done in a short amount of time? Yes. Was it explained? No. I have read the book. I love the book. I know the bloody book. AND SOMEHOW I WAS CONFUSED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MOVIE!! The voice over that was meant to explain the academy, and what happened did nothing but confuse. I'm not even going to mention the random jump cuts.

They suck
Yup. Okay. It's a vampire thing I get it, they suck at school. Yup vampire thing. Yup. However! For someone like me who just so happens to have a very dirty mind the first thing that comes to mind isn't the vampire thing. IT'S SOMETHING ALTOGETHER DIFFERENT! DO YOU SEE MY POINT?!?!?!?!?

The romance
For those of you who have seen the movie you might be screaming at your screens *Paulina what do you mean the romance? There was no romance* and you will be totally right! The whole point of Dimitri and Rose training was so that they could fall in love! The whole point of Christian and Lissa being up in the church was so that they could fall in love!!!! The only part where you could sort of see that Dimitri wanted Rose was while she was wearing the charmed necklace which just so happened not to be a rose... The whole point of the charm was that it would only work if both of the people were already crushing on each other. Their relationship did nothing, it was just training and oops I'm on top of you randomly.
At least if everything was screwed up but the main part of the story was there I could have been happy but no. Everything had to be turned to poop.


And on this note I will leave it. The film was okay at some bits, about 20 minutes of the film but apart from that I wish it was never turned into a movie. The books were perfect and didn't need to be ruined like this.

Review: Matched by Ally Condie

Matched by Ally Condie
Series: Matched
Release Date: November 30th 2010
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Amazon Book Depository

Goodreads Summary

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate... until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow

Is falling in love with someone’s story the same thing as falling in love with the person himself?

This is the only decent thing in this book.

Entertainment weekly described this book to be “the hottest YA title to hit the bookstores since The Hunger Games” is it though?! IS IT?!

I think you need to go and rethink your life choices if you think this was anything close to being as good as THG. This book was a complete snooze fest and I haven’t been this bored with a book in about a year now; so you can guess my big disappointment!

This book is readable yes but I would rather stick hot needles through my eyes than sit through another 360 odd pages of this story.

I’m not going to lie. The idea behind it is fantastic. But the book. Ew no.

Cassia lives in a world where the society controls everything. Where you work, who you get married to, how many children you have, ect. Therefore on their 17^th birthday’s (why 17? What’s so special about that) all the teenagers go to the Match Banquet dressed in their pretty clothes and await their perfect match to be shown on a screen. The couple later on then get aquatinted, get married and have kids. But when Cassia is matched with her childhood bestfriend Xander her life couldn’t be any better. She already knows her match and they can speed along their getting to know each other and she won’t have to move away from her family. But once Cassia returns home and watches her Banquet a different face flashes before her eyes; Ky, another guy she already knows. Isn’t Cassia just the luckiest! This is where the boring and predictable and very annoying part of the story begins. A love triangle. Obviously.

I don’t understand the hype for this book at all! Yes I’m late with reading this book and I’m glad I am. Actually no I wish I never read this tragedy. Ally’s writing is decent enough for me not to throw the book out of my window but the rest? Dull. There’s no passion in her writing, no urgency, no real desire to make this world come into life. It’s as if Ally was bored of her own dull work and couldn’t be bothered to make this book at all interesting. The relationships between the characters were dull, the society that she created was dull, the conflict if there ever was any was dull and not to mention the dull conversations between the characters. Actually no. The conversations were ugly. They were hard to read.

 “Once you want something, everything changes.” Erm no. Let me just burn the page this quote was on.

“Now that I've found the way to fly, which direction should I go into the night?” How about anywhere but near me.

“Do not go gentle.” I can’t remember where this is from but is this a sexual innuendo I smell here? Nope. There was nothing in this book that was remotely fun or funny or at all interesting!

I looked up some of these quotes just to show the kind of nonsense that’s in this book and it made me hate it even more. I forgot some of the stupid stuff that’s in here. And the stupid, stupid love triangle! This made me so mad!!! Cassia is matched with Xander and that pretty much means she will eventually marry him and she knows this. She agrees with the society but then goes off and has a relationship with Ky while poor cute little Xander has no idea. THAT’S CALLED CHEATING YOU SLUT.

“I came up on the screen, too, Cassia. But he was the one you chose to see.”

And look at him. He’s heartbroken because not only did Cassia chose to run away with Ky she also ruined Xander’s life. Bitch.

ARC Review: And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard

Title- And We Stay
Author- Jenny Hubbard
Published- January 28th 2014
Publisher- Delacorte Press
Buy- Amazon

Goodreads Summary 

Sent to an Amherst, Massachusetts, boarding school after her ex-boyfriend shoots himself, seventeen-year-old Emily expresses herself through poetry as she relives their relationship, copes with her guilt, and begins to heal.

I was lucky enough to receive this book from Netgalley to review. I mean look at that cover and the blurb for this book! I expected so many great things. So why exactly was I so disappointed?

After Emily’s boyfriend shoots himself in the school’s library after a bad breakup and finding out that a girl he was in love with was getting rid of their unplanned baby. After the abortion, Emily is sent to a boarding school for girls where she wants to find herself and deal with both losses. The book seemed very excitingly mysterious with Emily’s life being a tragedy with her only escape being poetry. The blurb for this book looks amazing. Tragedy, loss, poetry and mystery; what else would a girl want in a book?  

I could not connect with Emily at all. Nor with any other character in this book. The book is set in 1995 in third person; which bored the life out of me. Usually I don’t really mind a book being written in third person but how was I meant to connect with the character and her feelings when I didn’t know what was going on in her head?!

The poems were obviously meant to be the way for me to connect and understand Emily more, but I hated every single poem by Emily. I started to skip them after about reading ten of them. I usually love poems and trying to figure out what they mean and what they can all mean to me. However I’m not one of Emily Dickinson’s fans so all the facts about her life, and some poems from her really did nothing for me; seeing as Emily Dickinson was a big part of the book, really did no favours for me.

I continued reading this book because it’s an ARC and it just felt wrong to stop reading the book. However I wish I never bothered with even requesting the book. The blurb, the cover and the title mislead me. I actually thought that this book might be about ghosts (her boyfriend did kill himself after all).

Review: Once We Were by Kat Zhang

Once We Were by Kat Zhang
Series: The Hybrid Chronicles #2
Release Date: September 17th, 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins
Order: Amazon | Book Depository

Goodreads Summary

"I'm lucky just to be alive."

Eva was never supposed to have survived this long. As the recessive soul, she should have faded away years ago. Instead, she lingers in the body she shares with her sister soul, Addie. When the government discovered the truth, they tried to “cure” the girls, but Eva and Addie escaped before the doctors could strip Eva’s soul away.

Now fugitives, Eva and Addie find shelter with a group of hybrids who run an underground resistance. Surrounded by others like them, the girls learn how to temporarily disappear to give each soul some much-needed privacy. Eva is thrilled at the chance to be alone with Ryan, the boy she’s falling for, but troubled by the growing chasm between her and Addie. Despite clashes over their shared body, both girls are eager to join the rebellion.

Yet as they are drawn deeper into the escalating violence, they start to wonder: How far are they willing to go to fight for hybrid freedom? Faced with uncertainty and incredible danger, their answers may tear them apart forever.

“Everybody’s got sad stories.” Devon’s voice was as ungiving as stone. “And everyone thinks they’re so very special and broken because of them.”

I read What’s Left of Me back in 2012 and fell in love. I read Once We Were in 2014 and fell out of love. What’s Left of Me became a favorite of 2012 while Once We Were became a disappointment and it makes me wonder what went wrong? Was it me? Or was it the book?

I think the answer is both to a certain extent. One of the things that intrigued me in the first book was the hybrids. I was drawn in by this new spin on souls. It was so different from what I had read before and while some of the details concerning the concept bothered me, the uniqueness of it all made it easy to overlook things that didn’t work. In this book, the shiny gleam of originality wore off and I started to get really bothered by the idea of two souls in one body. I couldn’t wrap my head around it and it made no sense to me.  It was so HARD to imagine these hybrids. It seemed so weird and some things didn't line up for me as a reader. I felt like the idea hadn’t been as well thought through as it should have been because it was so DIFFICULT to wrap my head around. I'd be lying if I said it was easier to understand the concept of hybrids in the first book, but the problems with said idea really nagged at me in this book, making it harder to enjoy.

Eva was a character whose name reminded me of Wall-E who really shined out to me in the first book. Her struggles were realistic and her journey was a joy to experience. In this book that went down the drain. She read as a naïve girl who in spite of everything she had faced earlier, learned nothing. She, although not selfish, was incredibly self-centered. She never really bothered to ask how other people felt and went along with whatever she thought was right, dragging her sister and her close friends into her mess. She blindly followed other people because they were obviously ‘right’. It was disappointing because hadn’t the last book taught her anything about how much you can trust people? Character development didn’t occur until the last 20% and by then it was too late. I thought she had had it (referring to a certain event) coming and felt no sympathy for her.

Addie was annoying as always. She is a major hypocrite. She makes it impossible for Eva to have a normal relationship with Ryan for the first third of the book and then gets pissed when Eva freaks out about her relationship with Jackson. Oh and Eva feels guilty. For the most part though, Addie is very subdued. Not in a good way though. She acts even more childish than Eva (and throws tantrums).

The romance is very light and honestly, I don’t give two shits about the romance. It seems too awkward to me. I mean you’re making out with a guy but the guy’s brother and your sister can feel you making out and it seems so weird *shudders*. I am not sure a romance was even a good idea in this case. There was something brought up in the book that would make these romantic situations more bearable but I think that would negate the whole ‘point’ of these books. Hybrids aren’t defects, they’re ‘normal’, so doing what was suggested would be implying otherwise.

The plot was my biggest problem in this book. Where the first book had been doused with the element of danger, something I as a reader LOVE, this book hadn't been. Of course, that isn’t to say they weren’t in danger, I just didn't feel the danger. I wasn’t sitting on the edge, I was roaming around taking breaks because I was bored out of my mind. The plot of this book is basically stupid teens trying to start a revolution. Emphasis on stupid because none of them even think of the consequences and are surprised when things don’t go as planned. When I say everyone, I mean even the ‘kids’ who were older. Who should have been smarter but they weren’t. An eye for an eye isn’t actually a solution; it just makes both sides half blind and also provides some truth to the government’s claims about hybrids being dangerous. I can understand their rage but they are adults. They should know better than to let their rage control them. Their experiences should have matured them even if it turned them into rage beasts out to get the government.

At this point, I am so turned off by this series that I am not even sure I want to go through with it and read the last book. The ending does leave room for improvement but the idea of hybrids no longer appeals to me and is hard to wrap my head around. When I cannot even accept the building blocks of this series, I am not sure continuing is a wise idea, even if I really want to. 

Review: Viking Fire by Andrea Cooper

Viking Fire by Andrea Cooper
Release Date: July 29th, 2013
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Buy: Amazon

Goodreads Summary

856 CE, Ireland is a land of myth, magic, and blood. Viking raiders have fought the Irish for over half a century. Rival Irish clans promise only betrayal and carnage.

Kaireen, daughter of Laird Liannon, is suddenly forced into an arranged marriage with her sworn enemy, a Viking. She refuses to submit. With no mention of love, only land and the protection of her clan, she endeavors to get her betrothed banished from her country. Will love find its way around her stubborn heart?

Bram, the Viking, finds himself without future or inheritance as a younger son in his family. A marriage to the Laird’s daughter would grant him land if he swears fidelity and if his men will fight along with the Liannons against any foe—Irish or Viking. However, the Laird’s feisty daughter only holds animosity for him and his kind. Is marriage worth the battle scars of such a relentless opponent?

With the blame for a rival laird’s death treacherously set against the Liannons, Kaireen and Bram must find a way to lay aside their differences as an unforeseen darkness sends death snapping at their heels.

I like my historical romances but the ones I usually read are set in the 19^th century. My one attempt at reading something set farther back was a complete fail *cough Born in Sin cough*. This book is set even farther back, in ‘856 CE’  but the idea of Vikings being involved was intriguing enough for me to overlook the last time I got burned.

This was certainly a whole lot more tolerable than Born in Sin but the story itself was lacking. The setting was pulled off really well but when it came to the plot and characters, things just didn’t work out.

Starting with the main character, Kaireen, who is a speshul snowflake. She isn’t ordinary like her sisters, her father taught her how to use a bow and arrow and she also happens to be the only sister who gets a dowry. I do not understand. Why is she so special? She seems too brazen for a girl in that time. and is always running around doing things she shouldn’t be. The only quality about her that I actually like was how she was somewhat self-centered. We’ve encountered all those female leads that are so nice it’s sickening. The ones who probably go skipping around town throwing flowers everywhere from their special flower basket *gags*. I liked how she was actually aware of her position as the daughter of the leader of the clan. She wasn’t rude to the servants but she didn’t go out of her to be nice… and she actually got pissed at how she was treated during the term of her punishment (which she got for running around doing things she shouldn’t have… so that’s another plus).

I was really surprised by how everyone around her seemed to be fawning over ‘the enemy’ and she was the only one who had the common sense to actually realize that he was the enemy. Hotness shouldn’t be used as a way to redeem a character. That never helps. I suppose he’s never done anything ‘wrong’ but how can they be so certain he isn’t like the rest of the Vikings that raid their lands? What happened to self-preservation?

Getting to said enemy, Bram, why? Why is he so enthusiastic to marry her? I mean from what I understand he basically creepily observed her and fell in love and wanted to marry her. What? No. Ugh. He also happens to be a tad bit too perfect for my liking. Stopping men from beating up their wives, rescuing sisters (not once but TWICE), swearing fidelity to a girl he hasn’t married and who knows nothing about him, oh and he’s really hot.

The romance set off all my alarms, INSTA LOVE ALERT. One day she is hating on him, the other she is worried he is going to die. What? How did you even get there? I thought you didn’t want to marry him and now you’re telling yourself you don’t love him. Huh? Let’s not forget they know NOTHING about each other (well Bram did creepily observe her).

The plot did not work at all. It lacked substance. It was like trying to piece a puzzle where the pieces obviously did not fit. The pacing in general was messed up. Events occurred one after the other but they were never dwelled on. It was almost like a check list. They get attacked, check, there is a fire, check, etc. I just don’t understand what the point even was. The villain was very dull and seemed more like a wannabe than anything else. Like being evil for the sake of being evil and nothing else. I didn’t completely understand what made her tick and why she was out for blood. Some of the things were just vaguely mentioned never to be talked about again. The plot was all over the place and things didn't really tie back.

Simply put, this book did not work. It was decent enough but it lacked substance and couldn’t keep my attention. 

Discussion Post: Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Series: Lux #4

Release Date: 27th August, 2013

Publisher: Entangled

Buy: Amazon | Book Depository

Goodreads Summary

Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.

After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure.

All Katy can do is survive.

Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?

Together, they can face anything.

But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on?

And will they even be together?

Our Rating:

Rashika: Nope nope nope. I am so done with this series. Yes I guess this wasn't what I wanted. I was hoping that perhaps I was wrong when I read Opal, I was hoping that maybe this book would change my mind but it didn't. I don't care for this series anymore. 

Paulina: I know right?! What the hell was this, like seriously. I love Jennifer but she needs to learn how to stop something before she ruins the series. 

Rashika: Look at the two of them. They are both impulsive and don't think twice before doing something. In real life they would have been dead by now because of their stupidity, lucky for them they somehow ALWAYS survive. I know I should be glad that Katy's mind couldn't be changed but seriously. She really should at least consider the fact that there are evil Luxen who want to take over the world and destroy humanity. They *ARE* aliens and they *ARE* a lot more powerful than humans. Isn't it possible that they want to destroy the Earth? Just because you're in love with a 'good' alien doesn't mean the lot of them are like that.

Paulina: Don't even get me started on that. Seriously Daemon seemed so obsessed with everything. I get it you love her but chill your beans. I get the whole Arum vs Luxen thing. One being bad one good but not everything is so black and white. 

Rashika: Speaking of Aliens. Why are they so hot? and on that note.. can these two stop talking about how hot the other person is. Seriously. Considering that Daemon's beauty is actually superficial (it's not what he actually looks like), why is it so emphasized?

Paulina: When I first started reading the series (so many years ago) I was superficial and liked the whole Alien being hot and sexy. But it's not all about looks. Look at me being grown up. 

Rashika: We're both so grown up and mature now :'). Opal wasn't all that good but I though the dual pov would help in this book. It didn't. It so did NOT work. They two of them sounded exactly the same. Like 13 year olds. Silly little immature teens who are impulsive, don't think twice of their consequences and their world is centered around their own needs/wants. Neither of them act like the adults they are. Daemon still treats her like this fragile flower and also says stuff like "I don't love you for your brains". I get that it's a joke but... I don't actually see him once complementing her on anything that would actually mean something. He says stuff like she is gorgeous and how she is too good for him but.. yeah. Cheese alert. I drowned in it. Just sayin'. 

Paulina: Okay so I kind of liked the dual pov... But it was so hard to get used to it. I totally agree with you about the 13 year olds comment. Everyone annoyed me in this book. Just so annoying. Did I grow up or was the book kinda crap? 

Rashika: I think we both grew up :P The only good thing about this book was Luc. I liked him. I liked Blake too. He was my favorite character but what became of him early on in the book stopped him from being a plus. I hate how Katy acts like she is better than him. She admits she would have done the same thing but then she also contradicts herself. It pisses me off to no end. I loved Matthew in the first 3 books but he wasn't around a lot in this one.

Paulina: Matthew used to be my favourite character. Blake I didn't really have feelings for... Also Katy annoyed me from the very first book. The whole "oh I don't deserve him" crap. She was just annoying from the start. She grew on me during the second and third book but I was not impressed with her here.

Rashika: I wasn't impressed with the plot either. I basically had to force myself to finish the damn book. There was nothing happening till the end and then everything happened at once. And too many stupid things at that. I could probably list them all out but I cannot because spoiler alert. Darn it. I was pulling out my hair by the time I got to the end. 

Paulina: I was not looking forward to reading this book at all. I wanted the series to end. Seriously the whole plot line is just a massive cliche. Everything was just so easy to foresee. Seriously what was up with that? Nothing surprised me at all. 

Rashika: Predictability for the win (sarcasm). I knew people would die. I didn't even care. I only felt annoyed that the triplets always made it out alive. What makes them so special? Nothing I can see because they are a bunch of useless pathetic idiots.

Paulina: Usually a death has to happen to make me really like the book. Just for the emotions and feels. But here I didn't care. I completely agree with you about the triplets being "special" I get why. Because they are the main characters but that doesn't mean they need to be alive and amazing. 

Rashika: LOL. I'd rather my main characters survive but common, Dawson and Beth? At least THEY could have died :P Look at me being all morbid. I went into this book expecting brain candy and brain candy I did not get. Instead I got a main dish of cheese with a plot on the side. I am beyond frustrated. Yes this was still not bad enough to get a 1 but it was bad enough that I simply cannot carry on with this series any more. I am not the girl I was when I started it. This series no longer does anything for me. Daemon does not make me swoon. He makes me want to punch something. Katy isn't awesome. She is a pain in the ass. Their romance is not swoon worthy, it's puke worthy. This series is no longer one of the best things ever. It is bland and leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I won't re-read the first two books so as to preserve the magic of the past but I will not be reading the last book and will have to ask Paulina dear to spoil it for me.

Paulina: Yeah... I will finish the series. I need to so I can spoil it for Rashika. I'm so very disappointing with the book!!! I have no words. I need to have a think about it :/

Mini Review: Untamed Hearts by Melody Grace

Untamed Hearts by Melody Grace
Series: Beachwood Bay, #1.5
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: September 13, 2013
Buy: Amazon

It's the last night of summer in Beachwood Bay, but for Brit and Hunter, it's only the beginning …

She is: rebellious, wounded, free.
He is: handsome, searching, enchanted.
One night. Two restless hearts. But what happens when morning comes?

A tantalizing new novella from the internationally best-selling Melody Grace.

I didn't really love Untamed Hearts. I thought that I would, because all of Melody Grace's covers are so pretty - I'm a cover whore. I can't help it. I snatched this up on a freebie day, only to find out that... I didn't love it. It was too rushed. I generally like prequel books, but I found that I just couldn't believe that after one night they were in love.

Their relationship is based entirely on sex. That's obviously why they're in love. THIS is my face: -_- I don't feel like you can base an entire relationship on a physical connection. That just doesn't ring true. I want more depth to the romance that I read.

I found it interesting that there was a cameo of Emerson, and I liked the way that the stories kind of intertwined with Unbroken, but that just wasn't enough. I found Brit, our main character, to be an idiot. There's no other way to describe her for me. She runs away from everything, and she never even ventured to make an attempt at trying. That's why I didn't like her.

The love interest wasn't all that great either. I don't understand why everyone has to have problems to fall in love. Is there no people out there without the drama of a death or pressures or anything? All in all, this just wasn't the read for me, and I don't want to spend any more time dwelling on it.

Review: Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
Series: Benny Imura, #1
Release Date: September 14, 2010
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Buy: Amazon | The Book Depository

In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn't want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash, but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human.

In all honesty, I absolutely adore zombie novels. But for whatever reason, it's been impossible to satisfy me with zombies recently. They're all too... boring. They can't turn doorknobs, they shamble along and in all likeliness, their only purpose is a scare/action type factor. So, you can see where I'm going with this. Benny's zombies just weren't scary enough.

On the back of my copy of this book, it says "Benny Imura couldn't hold a job, so he took to killing". That makes him sound like the king of all badasses, but in the long run I didn't even really like him. As characters go, I thought that he was remarkably flat. He didn't have the emotion that I expected him to have, and... I didn't feel his drive. Like, I knew why he was doing things, but I couldn't feel it. There were no emotions behind him as a character.

I'm not going to lie, I didn't really care for the writing style either. It made the book a very slow read for me, even when the plot was really moving. I just kept trudging on and on. That was the only speed at which I could read Rot & Ruin, a trudge.

Don't get me wrong, the story was interesting enough. The plot was okay, and there were a few surprises... but it was bogged down by flat characters and I slightly confusing point of view. Most of the time, Benny was our narrator, but I noticed a few times that it was Tom, which was slightly awkward. I think that I just have a problem with third person writing. Maybe that's it.

I did like Tom, but he wasn't really in the book for very long. He had a great sense of justice, and he was wonderful when he was telling stories to Benny, which makes him one of the bright-ish spots in this novel. The ending was nice and gave me closure, but unfortunately... I don't really believe that I'll continue the series. All in all, Rot & Ruin just wasn't for me, no matter how much I wish that it was.

ARC Review: Delectable by Adrianne Lee

Title: Delectable
Author: Adrianne Lee
Series: Big Sky Pie #1
Release Date: September 3rd, 2013
Publisher: Forever
Buy: Amazon | BookDepository

Goodreads Summary

On her way out of town, Callee McCoy only wants to say a fond farewell to her beloved mother-in-law. But Molly soon persuades Callee to stay and lend a hand at the new shop, even if it means heating up the kitchen with her soon-to-be ex. As Callee and Quint rediscover their recipe for love, they realize that some couples are so sinfully good together that one delectable taste is never enough . . .
Montana real estate agent Quint McCoy will tell you that the most important thing is location, location, location. It's a lesson he learns all too well when he goes incommunicado for a four-week fishing trip to Alaska. While he's away, his mother Molly turns his office into the pie shop she has always dreamed of, Big Sky Pie. But that's not the only surprise in store for him.

This book was. Yeah see I don’t know what to say so instead of attempting to write a review for this I am going to go with the flow and write an interview instead.

Before I do so you’ll probably want a brief introduction so you don’t go blind faced into this.

So basically there is a dude and this dude’s father dies and then he feels guilty because he didn’t go fishing with his dad and so he lashes out at his wife and becomes so pissed that he tells her he wants a divorce. He then flies to Alaska and spends a month fishing. When he comes back he realizes he was a doofus except he really cannot do anything. When he gets to his office it turns out his mom is making that into a pie shop and has stolen his assistant. His ex comes back to return the ring and then his mom gets a heart attack. Now the two must take care of the pie shop.

*cue music*

*stumbles onto the set*   

Me: HELLO WORLD! My name is Rashika and welcome to my talk show where I interview people who don’t really exist.

Quint & Callee: Are you drunk?

Me: Nooooooooooooooo of course not       

*whispers to the audience* pstttt I am, I had to get drunk so that I could talk to these two without losing my mind

Quint & Callee: We heard that

Me: Heard what??

Ohh never mind that guys. Tell me about yourselves, how did you meet?

*looks at the audience and gags*

*turns around to see the two making googly eyes at each other*

Quint: You tell the story

Callee: No you tell the story

Me: OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. Quint shut up, Callee answer the question.

Callee: So like I was going to go to cooking school but then my evil grandma got sick and we had to sell the house to pay the bills and guess who was the realtor? Quint! So like he looked at me with that engaging heart-stopping grin of his and I was a total goner. It was love at first sight.

*both at the same time*

Quint: So that’s what you were doing

Me: If the grin was heart-stopping then why were you not taken to a hospital??

OH QUINT STOP INTERRUPTING ME! You’ll get your turn.

Callee: Yeah honey that was what I was doing but I was too scared to tell you because what if you made fun of me you know? And to answer your question no, of course I wouldn’t need to go to the hospital, Quint could resuscitate me with his kisses.

Quint: Of course sweetheart, I wouldn’t let you die on me.

Me: I certainly would. So wait let me get this Callee, you think you two had a good relationship yet you were scared out of your mind to tell Quint that you wanted to be a chef?

Quint: It’s not like that. See even I was afraid to tell her that I loved baking pies and was actually good at that. It’s not really manly and if anyone found out they would make fun of me.

Me: But that’s so cool!

Callee: Yeah he didn’t tell me about the pies until like after we had separated but it totally turned me on to watch him make them. I mean his super strong hands rolling out the pie crust? *swoon*

Me: *blinks* You guys had serious communication issues. It’s a wonder your relationship lasted as long as it did.

Callee: Who cares about everything else, we had passion, the kind you cannot find anywhere else. 

Me: So you’re saying sex is the best way to solve your problems?

Callee: Of course dummy!

Me: No wonder you acted like horny teens throughout the whole book.

Callee: HEY!

Me: Says the girl who thinks kisses will bring her back to life

Callee: Well I live in a world where women in their 20’s wear crocs so anything can happen.

Quint: Oh sweetheart don’t talk like that about yourself, you look so sexy in them. They just turn me on.

Me: Quint shut up. Anywho you make a good point Calle. Now you can talk Quint since it’s your turn. Now care to explain why you acted the way you did when your father died?

Quint: It was the grief. I didn’t want my father to be gone I loved him so much. I know I was a jerk, I mean she has always felt unwanted and I made her feel that way again. I am just so stupid.

Me: I’ll agree with that but wait why does Callee feel unwanted?

Callee: My grandma was evil. My mom died when I was 7 and then I was sent to live with my evil grandma who was too conservative and drilled it into me that I was not to become a ho. Plus I didn’t really feel unwanted I was just sad that he didn’t realize I had lost a dad too, I mean his father always treated me like his real born daughter. I had never had a father figure in my life so he was like a father to me. 

Me: So technically you married your brother?

Callee: *starts crying* Don’t mock me like that, Quint’s family accepted me and loved me. They were the first real family I had had. They saved me.

Me: hokay. So basically the two of you are a bunch of clichés?

Quint & Callee: Nooooo we’re not.

Callee: Just because I am broken and didn’t know true love until Quint doesn’t make me a cliché.

Quint: Just because I am super hot for no real reason doesn’t make me a cliché.

Me: Whatever you say guys. Hey Callee I do have to say that I was glad you came to your senses and realized you didn’t deserve to be treated like shit even though you cried too much.

Callee: Noooo that was a bad decision. I love him so much, I’ll die without him.

Me:  *face palm* I cannot take this shit anymore. GET OUT OF HERE YOU DUMBASSES

Quint & Callee: But??? What about our pie shop?

Me: I SAID GET OUT. I cannot take your shit anymore even though I am drunk!

Quint & Callee: Fine! See if we give you any of our awesome pie.

*they walk away*

Me: Thanks guys for joining me bah bahhh and maybe next time I’ll be sober

*curtains close*

Anyways this book does have some funny moments and isn’t as horrible as I make it sound but it just wasn’t what I expected it to be. The characters didn't really act their age and had serious issues. There wasn't much of a plot either.

Eona by Alison Goodman

Title: Eona
Author: Alison Goodman
Series: Eon #2
Publisher: Viking
Release Date: April 19th, 2011
Buy: Amazon

Goodreads Summary

Eon has been revealed as Eona, the first female Dragoneye in hundreds of years. Along with fellow rebels Ryko and Lady Dela, she is on the run from High Lord Sethon's army. The renegades are on a quest for the black folio, stolen by the drug-riddled Dillon; they must also find Kygo, the young Pearl Emperor, who needs Eona's power and the black folio if he is to wrest back his throne from the selfstyled "Emperor" Sethon. Through it all, Eona must come to terms with her new Dragoneye identity and power - and learn to bear the anguish of the ten dragons whose Dragoneyes were murdered. As they focus their power through her, she becomes a dangerous conduit for their plans. . . .

Eona, with its pulse-pounding drama and romance, its unforgettable fight scenes, and its surprises, is the conclusion to an epic story only Alison Goodman can create..

 I started off by giving this book a three because I didn't think it was so bad that it deserved a two but then I realised a three meant that I actually liked the book and I didn't. This book was a big fat disappointment (no literally, it was 638 pages long).

It wasn't until page 84 (yes I remember somehow) that things started going downhill for me. For the first 84 pages, I was ready to be blown away by the awesomeness of this book but that didn't happen. Instead I read the second most disappointing sequel of the year (the first being Timekeeper). I thought that this book would help continue the streak of good books, but the streak finished before it even started. 

The only reason why I am not giving this book a 1 is because the concept was still interesting (which is the only positive thing I am going to mention).

I had three main problems with the book

1. Eona

2. Kygo

3. and their relationship

I really really really did not like Eona in this book. While she bothered me some in the first book it wasn't nearly as bad as it was this time around. She became a whiny and rather self centred girl in this one. I don't think she realised half the time that the world did not revolve around her own damn problems. Sometimes it seemed as though she was more bothered by the fact that Kygo and her couldn't have a real relationship than the imminent war.

Kygo wasn't any better either. He acted less like an emperor and more like a spoil brat. Every time something when wrong he would throw a tantrum. Right now I am very glad that I am not under his rule because with a emperor like him, I might as well just forget about myself because my life must revolve around his wishes. The only thing that makes him better than Eona was that he wasn't nearly as love sick as her.

Eona and Kygo together?? Huh? They acted like a bunch of horny teenagers. 'Heat' flared between them when they weren't even in close contact. Oh COMMON! Have I not read enough crappy romances, that one of the ones that I was actually looking forward to went down the drain? In the first book they were mostly acquaintances but somehow they went from acquaintances to umm being in love? Before I even get to that let me mention, there is a love triangle of sorts going on here. One relationship is based on love and the other on lust. And no, this one was not the lust one, this was the LOVE one. I am not even sure where the love come from. Thin air perhaps? It happens often enough these days in YA so why the hell not? They also have huge trust issues which definitely do not help in making their relationship better. If they really loved one another, they would goddamn trust each other. I believe that trust is very essential to a relationship and without it a relationship just won't survive. 

I preferred Lord Ido to these two and that's saying something because I despised him in the previous book. 

At least he is true to his purpose. He knows what he damn wants and he will get it no matter the cost. He is not exactly redeemed in this book but I will say, he does seem to get better.

Aside from that, this book really did bother the feminist in me. I know, I know, its a part of the world building but I cannot seem to shake off the unease that comes from reading how low a position women hold in this society. Eona seems to be the strongest woman in the book but she is too busy worrying about her relationship with Kygo so that doesn't really help matters.

I realise I haven't mentioned anything aside from characters and relationships and thats mostly because the faults in those two things alone just overshadowed the book for me, I could not enjoy the excitement or anything else that was going on and it wasn't until the last couple of pages where I started enjoying the book. Sadly that wasn't nearly enough to redeem it for me. 

Hopefully people will have better luck than I did with this book.