jody eve

I was so eager for the release of The Winner's Curse -- I put it on hold months ago at the library and everythang... But god, was I BORED reading this. Even the action scenes pretty near put me to sleep. The romance -- which was a huge part of this novel -- just felt flat. And while the writing wasn't terrible by any means, I just wasn't feelin it. I don't know if it was the characters or the predictable storyline or the writing, or the combination of all three, but something just wasn't clicking for me like it obviously has for others. I would be interested to try out some of the authors other work, but I'm afraid The Winner's Curse just ain't for me :/

Reread for the release of Gods & Monsters (!!!!)

Obviously nothing will compare to the love I felt the first time I read this, but... I forgot how badass Karou is. Just love her. 

Gahhh. You know that anger and anxiety you get when you finish a really good book? Yeah. I has it.

Like... Does it HAVE to be over? Does it? I could read about these characters all. Day. Long.

They're just so insanely realistic. I feel like I'm reading about guys I grew up with and arguments I had with my own brothers. The dialogue is so damn natural, the writing just flows and is perfect and I felt like I was right THERE living it every time I picked up this book. There are no clunky descriptions or cheesy dialogue. Teenagers react exactly like normal teenagers tend to react and have conversations that real teenagers would have. It's amazeballs.

The attachment I have to each and every character can't even really be put into words. But somehow I feel like one of the family every time I pick up a book from this series. The love and appreciation I have for the world and people Kemmerer has created here runs deep. There are less than a handful of authors who I will say that I will, without a doubt, read anything they publish. Brigid Kemmerer is one of them. It's authors like her that remind me that YA has some really, really good stuff to offer.

I often find it really difficult to write a proper review for books that blew me away like Secret did. I'm just so damn full of feel right now and trying really hard to keep it together, but I just have to say that the Merricks have to be one of my favourite fictional families of ever. They're right up there with the Cohens, anyway. (OC forever, baby.) But, man. Kemmerer write, and keep writing, because the world needs more books like yours.

I normally don't come right out and say this but I really didn't enjoy this book. And I mean, that's fine, right? It happens sometimes. And despite what certain authors and fans would have us all think think, it's totally okay not to like a book. At least I still like to think so.

The Iron Daughter wasn't a terrible read, but I just didn't dig it. And in this case, there's a major reason why: I could not handle the YA cliches.

And they were every-fucking-where.

Seriously, I started keeping track somewhere are the mid-mark, but ended up giving up on the list shortly after due to a severe eye-roll induced headache. (That's a real thing, by the way.) Soooo let's see how many YA cliches we can find:

1. Two handsome boys pining after the formally Plain-Jane MC? Check.
2. MC gets her ass saved multiple times by said handsome boys? Check.

3. MC gets makeover for a reason that fails to add to the plot in any way whatsoever? Check. (Seriously. Was that really necessary?)
4. People performing the makeover fawn over the MC? Check.
5. Boys stare after the makeover? Check.
6. (Random as fuck) high school dance? Check
7. MC's ex-crush, who humiliated her in front of the entire school, suddenly worships the ground she walks on when she reappears for random as fuck dance? You guessed it... Check.
8. MC gets insanely jealous when a cheerleader so much as exchanges a few words with her leading man? You got it.

And this list only comes from like 15% of the book. It was just all too much to keep track. It was almost like the author was almost trying to live out a teenage fantasy or something. It got to the point where it was actually kind of comical, and I had to keep reading to find out what she'd whip out next.

And Meghan. Oh, Meghan, Meghan, Meghan. She's just is not my favourite heroine, not by a long shot. She's just so... young. And for a while there, I could have sworn Bella Swan took over the narration. It was craaaazy. I know it's been a few years since I was 16, but man, I just could not sympathize with her at all. I really, really hope she matures somewhat in the next book, because Kagawa has written some of the best secondary characters I've read in a long time, and I actually look forward to seeing where their stories go. And now that we got all the cliches out of the way, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that book 3 has some fresh, kickass material in store.

(...A girl can dream, right?)

I started The Iron King a loooong time ago. (Ok, well, not that long ago. Maybe six months ago? I don't know. I exaggerate.) But anyway, I got about 20% into the book and put it aside. The narration felt a little too juvenile for my taste, and I just wasn't really feeling it. So, off to the dark recesses of my maybe-later shelf it went.

Then, yesterday afternoon, I was trying SO HARD to catch a few more hours of shut-eye (after getting up at 4:30 am to watch the Canadian mens hockey team win a gold medal, because Canadians are hardcore like that). But, despite the 3 hours of sleep I had the night before and the 5 am beers in my belly, I could not sleep. I could hardly keep my eyes open, but I could. Not. Sleep. So, on a whim, I grabbed The Iron King and picked up where I left off, hoping reading a few chapters would help put me out.

Oh, how wrong I was.

I devoured the rest of the book (and still managed to sneak in a little nap, because, let's be real, I cannot function off of 3 hours of sleep). It was just an entertaining read. Sometimes you need that, ya know? I had a few issues with the book, but nothing major enough to deter me from picking up the next in the series. Though I admit I am a tad nervous this is going to turn into a "pining 24/7 and making idiotic decisions based on the guy you loooove" kind of series, but... we'll see.

Ahhh what can I say? It's good. I loved it. My hubs and I started watching the show as I was reading the books (never getting ahead of the books, of course.) The books are so much better, in my humble opinion, but hubs seems to be loving the show, so whatever. It's all awesomeness.

But in lieu of a review, here are a short list of things I could commonly be heard muttering/yelling/crying/sobbing while reading:

(*spoilery if you haven't read Clash of Kings or watched season 2)

"Ah. It's so good. SO GOOD."

"JON SNOW!!" *Followed by a swoon (er, maybe this was more while watching the show. Either way. Yay Jon Snow.)

"No no no no no no no no..."

And: "FUCKING GREYJOY."

Seriously. Of all the evil and nastiness in this series so far, I hate Greyjoy more than anyone. More than any other fictional villain of all time, maybe. And you know, he's not even really a villain -- just a spineless sack a shat that I hope dies a slow, painful death.

Fuck. You. Greyjoy.

"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground."

So I've never watched the TV show Game of Thrones. I never really paid it much attention --  the only thing I really knew about GoT was that the buddy from Lord of the Rings is in it, and Peter Dinklage plays somebody. But a while ago I kind of decided I might want to catch up on the show (it's kind of a big deal in my circle of friends). Then I decided that I wanted to read the books before I watched the show, so I asked a few of my friends their opinion on reading the series. All of their recommendations went along the lines of:
A) Don't get too attached to the characters
B) The books are just going to piss you off
C) Everybody dies. Every. Body. You. Love. Dies

And I'm like: pffft, I'm hard as fuck, I've got a heart of stone and I can handle a few character deaths. (Hey, self: remember when you SOBBED into your pillow while reading The Dog Stars? Remember that? No? Okay then, yeah, you'll be fiiiine.) So, anyway, I checked out Game of Thrones from the good ole library, thinking I was going to prove to my friends that I could let every character death roll off my back like it was no biggie. I was going to prove to them (and myself) that I was tough shit.

But... then I went and did the very thing they all told me not to do: I got attached.

I guess I can't say that I didn't know what I signed up for, right? Sigh. Just don't crush my soul too hard, ok GRRM?

(Yeah, right.)

Anyway, I'm not going to do a real review of this book, mostly because other than LoTR it's the first first high-fantasy I've read, and while I enjoyed it immensely I really don't know enough about the genre to offer a well-rounded review. And also, I feel like you don't need me to tell you whether or not you should be reading this series. If you think it's for you, go for it. It's entertaining, and I thought the writing was splendid and the storyline was captivating and constantly kept me guessing. But if 700+ page high-fantasy novels aren't for you, watch the show, don't watch the show, doesn't really matter to me. Live your life, folks.

This book was so much fun -- fast paced and action-packed, with world building that actually made sense... all the good stuff you want in a war-stricken dystopia.

And then, THEN, as I was caught up in the chaos and action and basically just loving life, Marie Lu decided to stop just long enough rip out my heart and toss it into the mix. Don't get me wrong, I love a book that socks me right in the feels, but I was so not expecting that.

It's fine though, because I'm reading a COMPLETE FREAKIN' TRILOGY (for the first time in my life, maybe?) so if you'll excuse me a moment, I'm off to tear apart my library until I find book three.