Review: The Mad Scientist's Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Title: The Mad Scientist's Daughter
Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke
Release Date: January 29th, 2013
Publisher: Angry Robot
Buy: Amazon | BookDepository

Goodreads Summary

"Cat, this is Finn. He's going to be your tutor."

Finn looks and acts human, though he has no desire to be. He was programmed to assist his owners, and performs his duties to perfection. A billion-dollar construct, his primary task is now to tutor Cat. As she grows into a beautiful young woman, Finn is her guardian, her constant companion...and more. But when the government grants rights to the ever-increasing robot population, however, Finn struggles to find his place in the world, and in Cat's heart.

It’s been two weeks since I’ve read this book and I still don’t feel ready to write a review. I’d rather just post all the quotes I collected and force people to read this book. Because yes this book was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I knew that would be the case before I went in (I have good instincts okay?) but that still didn’t prepare me for the amount of love I would feel for this book.

I’ll admit I didn’t cry while reading it but I wanted to. I had class right after I finished this book and I was so worried I’d start bawling right in the middle of, and I did come close to doing just that. Even thinking about this book just makes me wish I could hug someone who understands why this book is so fucking special.

The thing is that there isn’t a particular scene or chapter that breaks your heart. The WHOLE book is heartbreaking. Finn is. Cat is. Everything about this book is. But then there are also those parts that make your heart soar.

I actually tried to take it slow but gave in to my need to know what became of Finn and Cat, but the book did last 3 days.

This book takes place over the course of many years, from when Cat was a bright little kid to when Cat became a subdued adult.

Cat is the daughter of two scientists. They’ve never had enough time for her and they don’t really believe in sending her to school so they get her a robot tutor, Finn. She thought he was a ghost at first and was afraid of him, she even went so far as to take him to a graveyard to see if he would move on but he didn’t. The fact that he could tell her tons of story convinced her to finally be his ‘friend’. She never really realized he was a robot though so she never understood why he gave her such detailed answers.  Here is a quote from the first scene that broke my heart.

      “You’re boring,” she told him.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t wish to be.”

She learned at a dinner party that he wasn’t in fact a ghost but a robot and her first reaction was relief, she was relieved that her most favorite person in the world wasn’t in fact dead

“I don’t mind that you’re a computer.” She ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his legs, leaning her head against his hip. He put his hand on her shoulder, and the weight of it seemed to sink straight through her.

“I’m glad,” he said.

But as she becomes older, she finds herself attracted to Finn which makes things awkward because how can you be attracted to a robot? I am not even going to rebuke her for thinking like that because there was a point early on in the book where I pondered that myself, I fell in love with Finn quite early on but it took me a couple of chapters to get used to the idea. But even with her own confusion about her feelings she was always protective of Finn.

She didn’t trust the grown-ups waiting in the house, the people who knew Finn for what he was the minute they laid eyes on him, the people who called him it.

But as she matures into an adult her parents start paying more attention to her. They don’t approve of her relationship with Finn and think she should spend time with people her own age. So after years of being homeschooled by Finn, she is forced to go to school where she doesn’t get along with most people. She even gets into a fist fight with someone who dared to insult Finn.

 Before I go on, I just want to mention her parents. They come off as unfeeling at first and I didn’t like them much but Clarke pulls it off, she doesn’t cast them as the normal cliché of absent parents, you come to understand why her mom was the way she was and even love her father, the mad scientist.

I could probably base this whole review on Cat’s life and fill it up with quotes but the point is that Cat spends so much of her time running away from how she feels about Finn. She dates people that look like Finn, marries a guy she doesn’t give a rat’s ass about who also turns out to be abusive. You want to shake her but at the same time you want to hug her. She is so lonely for most part of the book, going through the motions and not even realizing what she really wants. When she finally stands up for herself, I was so happy. I practically jumped out of my chair and.. ran around??

The thing about Cat is that she is such a human character, she screws up, runs away from her feelings, constantly deludes herself, isn’t particularly strong, in fact I don’t think you’re meant to like her, just understand her, but I ended up loving her even though she bothered me some. It’s because of the realness of her character.

“Yes,” he said. “A violation.” His eyes vibrated. “But how could you know that? You can’t be shut off.”

While this book is based on Cat’s life, this is definitely Finn’s story, and my god it’s a heartbreaking story. I realize I’ve already said that a gazillion times and now it just seems like I am shoving it down your throats but I feel the need to reinforce the point because it’s Finn that constantly breaks your heart, not Cat. The thing about Finn is that he is a pretty mysterious character, half the time it’s hard to figure out what goes on in his mind aside from his obvious feelings for Cat, but even then you cannot help but feel for him. He seems so human to us readers but people in his world don’t see that, to him he is just a mechanical unfeeling object and they treat him as such. And for the most part Finn readily accepts that because that’s what he feels defines him.

I realize I haven’t talked about much else, like perhaps the plot but I don’t even know where to begin with that, this book is like a coming of age story. Except both characters are adults (well one is a robot but you get what I mean). It’s a story about opening up to true love and looking beyond just yourself. It’s a story about finally being happy again. It’s a story about many goddamned things. Honestly this book reminds me so much of Artificial Intelligence, which was one of my all-time favorite movies.

I don’t even think what I wrote can be called a review, it’s hardly coherent and it was emotionally exhausting having to revisit everything that this book makes me feel, in fact I had goosebumps almost the whole time I was writing this review and right now my heart just feels heavy.

This book is heartbreaking and wonderful and I wish I could marry it (Finn). There I said it. It’ll stay with me for a long long time but if you’re not one for an angst filled book even when the main character is a grownup, skip this, or if you can make an exception (like I did), DO IT, READ THIS BOOK, LOVE IT, and cry with me over it.

Review: The Assassin's Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Title: The Assassin’s Curse
Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke
Series: The Assassin’s Curse #1
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Date Published: October 2, 2012
Buy: Amazon

Goodreads Summary

Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to an allying pirate clan: she wants to captain her own boat, not serve as second-in-command to her handsome yet clueless fiance. But her escape has dire consequences when she learns the scorned clan has sent an assassin after her.

And when the assassin, Naji, finally catches up with her, things get even worse. Ananna inadvertently triggers a nasty curse — with a life-altering result. Now Ananna and Naji are forced to become uneasy allies as they work together to break the curse and return their lives back to normal. Or at least as normal as the lives of a pirate and an assassin can be.

EDIT: This is an old review. I wrote it many months ago on my old blog. Also there are probably several mistakes in here :P I wasn't too big on proof-reading back then.

The cover was one of the things that really got to me when I first saw  the book. It had the right combination of colors and well the title was very tempting as well. The summary really made me want to read this book though.  I hadn’t read a book about Pirates prior to this one and well I was really excited. Somewhere along the way I forgot about this book because I had a lot of other books on my to read list. Then after a while, I remembered this book as “the one with the pretty cover” and I scrolled through my to-read list until I finally found it. I got it and I read it!

I cannot even write this without smiling like a geek because this book made me that happy.

It was amazing. It has people running away, magic, curses, assassins, pirates etc. What else could one want?

This also happens to be one of the rare books where I love the main character. She has her flaws but there isn’t a point in the book where I want to smack her. Not One . She is funny, she has a sense of loyalty and she doesn’t melt into a puddle of goo! *squeals* (although I wonder how she couldn’t after Naji walks in)

She is also smart, no not book smart but smart. She can take care of herself and doesn’t need someone to look after her. She is a pirate for crying out loud.

Naji. Naji. Naji. I think he is one of the best male characters ever. He has flaws. The author doesn’t show that he has a good side by making him become all nice after falling in love with Ana. Wait before I go further I should mention this. This isn’t a romance no matter what people say. It’s an adventure. Although, there IS chemistry between the two.

Okay going on. He has flaws because he regrets decisions he has made. He has been hurt and he doesn’t like it when people stare at his scar. He is insecure but he doesn’t become a softy. He is still tough.

This book is also infused with a good amount of humor, for example:

“I can’t believe this,” I muttered, cradling the skein of water up close to my chest. “Two weeks in the desert all on account of some assassin who doesn’t know how to look out for snakes.”

“If you hadn’t killed that snake,” Naji said calmly, “I would have killed you.”

“Oh, shut up.” 

I don't know how many times I've read and re-read this book and the sequel will definitely be on my most anticipated list.

The Pirate's Wish by Cassandra Rose Clarke

The Pirate's Wish by Cassandra Rose Clarke
Series: The Assassin's Curse #2
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Release Date: June 4th, 2013
Pre-Order: Amazon

Goodreads Summary

After setting out to break the curse that binds them together, the pirate Ananna and the assassin Naji find themselves stranded on an enchanted island in the north with nothing but a sword, their wits, and the secret to breaking the curse: complete three impossible tasks. With the help of their friend Marjani and a rather unusual ally, Ananna and Naji make their way south again, seeking what seems to be beyond their reach.

Unfortunately, Naji has enemies from the shadowy world known as the Mists, and Ananna must still face the repercussions of going up against the Pirate Confederation. Together, Naji and Ananna must break the curse, escape their enemies — and come to terms with their growing romantic attraction.

I waited for so long to get this book. So so long. When I got accepted on NetGalley, I ran around the house screaming. The Assassin’s Curse was one of my favorite books from last year and well the sequel was going to have to be the best thing ever.

And it kind of was. I don’t think I can say it was better than the first book but it was definitely something.

Ananna is a great female lead.  I’ve had a girl crush on her since the last book and my mind has definitely not changed about that. Of course she is far from perfect, there are times when you want to smack her and wish she would understand but then there are times you want to hug her and tell her you understood. Although I’ll say this, sometimes she is just completely irrational and I missed the kick ass Ananna from the first book. Ananna also become slightly insecure about her appearance which bothered me because I thought that was Naji’s role. I mean it does make me a hypocrite to expect her to be completely awesome so I won’t hold it against her.

Naji becomes even more loveable in this book, how is that possible? He is still that brooding guy who is insecure about his appearance. I think that’s one of the reasons he appeals to me. The author doesn’t make him some hot shot who is full of himself, he is human and he has issues, everyone has some insecurities. As his relationship develops with Ananna, he becomes a lot nicer as well. Of course there are times you want to tell him to stop being so stubborn and admit his feelings for Ananna because seriously, they are perfect together.

The fantasy aspect of this one is definitely more entertaining because of the curse, the three impossible tasks and talking animals.

We know that in the end the curse will be broken but the question is how. There were times when I thought that they had it pretty easy what with them not having to work very hard to get their answers. So I may have been slightly disappointed because of that but when I thought about it again (after re-reading the book) I realized that the time span was pretty big so it probably wasn’t as easy as I thought.

There are a lot of opinions about the romance and a lot of people found the romance to be disappointing. I personally found it to be confusing. It was what I wanted but at the same time it wasn’t. Because although Ananna tried to not let Naji’s actions get to her, they did and she became … pretty angsty. And then there was Naji getting jealous (or at least I thought that he was.. could have been my imagination). When Naji finally snapped out of it.. it wasn’t as believable as it could have been and they kind of progressed really quickly from there (or it seemed like they did).

The ending. Well usually I’d love that kind of ending but but I kind of wanted a Disney ending. I mean if you’ve read the first book you know that one of the impossible tasks was a true love’s kiss. That was kind of how I wanted the book to end. Yes I know how stupid I sound right now, believe me, and I also know how cheesy that ending would have been but that’s what I wanted. Otherwise, overlooking my immatureness, the ending was actually pretty great. It felt good to have our Ananna back (she says something that made me pretty proud).

I wouldn’t say it was worth the wait but the sequel was pretty good. If you loved the first book then definitely give this one a shot.