Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell

E-galley Courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company through Edelweiss

Release Date: August 4 th

First of all, let me start by reiterating something that all the other reviewers have been saying ad infinitum...

This has nothing to do with Cinder, people!
More than a mechanic, Nicolette is actually an inventor.
Also, she has all her limbs...

Yes, in this story our main character lives a very Cinderella type of life... as usual in all the Cinderella fairy tales or retellings tropes.
She lives in her family home, being exploited by her evil and puritan stepmother and stepsisters.
But besides that, she doesn't possess any of the... let's say "normal traits" associated with the character. And that is great!
Unfortunately almost all of the other aspects aren't all that great... to say the least.

The stepmother and stepsisters are the usual clichés with cardboard personalities;
The story's pace is painfully slow and boring;
Although the author tried to establish a solid world building with connections to the Fey _ "mythology"  _ I could never grasp how magic would work in Nicollette's world.
Also, I kind of missed her thinking process while creating new things: It seemed that all she needed in order to create something was to put her goggles on and voilá, one steampunk object coming right up.

To "compensate" that, there's a lot  a lot I tell you of inner monologues.
_ Also there is a character to which Nicollete will grow very attached to, and I honestly couldn't feel it.

The positives
The worst thing about me giving this tale only two and a half stars, is that this story actually has a great message!
In fact it has pretty much almost everything I would want _ okay, it has the fundamental: the skeleton _ in any type of story.

It has a strong leading character, who is fiercely motivated in following her goals.
Nick is determined in not letting anything not even some boy she may fancy get in the way of her dreams.
More than anything in the world, Nick wants her freedom.
She wants to work in what makes her happy and she wants her independence.

The strongest relationship in this book is one of friendship, and I loved the girls interaction. I loved that their friendship took precedence over the supposed romance.

Despite all of this, strangely, I loved the last part of the story. -_-

We got to see the characters being faithful to whom they were and I loved that.
Also, there were some pretty beautiful prose going around in that last part that I would love to quote here... but can't. :/

Too bad that the beginning and the middle of the story ended up being quite dull.
Truth is, I couldn't' care less about the sewing machines  that Nick ends up creating _ amongst many other things _and all the mechanical "animals" that would end up helping her.
Thing is, I wanted adventure!

As such recommended with caution to jaded bookworms.

Author's Official Site

Buy " Mechanica"
@bookdepository.com

Essence by Lisa Ann O'Kane

arc provided by Strange Chemistry through Netgalley

I... don't even know what to write about this book.

This is really weird, because I tend to love Strange Chemistry's books, I don't understand how they decided to publish this... but other people seem to have liked it, so...

This book has one of the most annoying and tstl heroines I've come across recently. Honestly, I spent my time going, "Girl, don't do it! Oh my God."

Add to that a nonsensical plot, no character development, no worldbuilding, AND A LOVE TRIANGLE that felt so forced I was just frowning at the screen the whole time, and I was just done with this. 

I was drawn to this book because Autumn escapes a cult. As it turns out she escapes from one cult to another.

The insta-love was dreadful, the way she used Javi to make Ryder jealous was despicable...

And Ryder, the ~hot love interest~, is so disgusting! Drugging her, showing off his bits in what amounted to real live unwanted (as if they're ever wanted...) dick pics, lying to her, being a horrible influence urging her to risk her life for the thrill of it... Pushing her to sex, alcohol and drugs for the adrenaline, instead of treating these things in a responsible way...

How was this even published to a young adult audience?!

Frog and Toad Are Friends (Frog and Toad #1) by Arnold Lobel

Such a pity I didn't get to read this book as a child.

Every time Toad would speak I'd just go, "I feel you" and "This dude really gets me".

Buy Frog and Toad Are Friends
@ The Book Depository (paperback for only €3,86/$4.19!!!)

The Betrayal of Renegade X (Renegade X #3) by Chelsea M. Campbell

YASSSSSS ANOTHER RENEGADE X BOOK!!!

This is seriously one of my absolutely favourite series, so this review will feature a lot of fangirling!

In the last book we see Damien finally make a choice regarding his future. Now we see him trying to see that choice through. 

I honestly loved seeing him fight the establishment, loudly disagreeing with the misinformation and propaganda taught in school. Being vocal about the dehumanization of the "enemy" they are being fed.

Of course that doesn't turn out well for him, academically speaking. 

One thing I find very realistic in this series is how his father says he'll try to do better and accept Damien as he is, but then he'll get disappointed about it and try to change him. He's always like, "Son, just watch, I will show you how proud I am of you for being true to yourself!" And then we're like, "Okay, let's see this." BUT it always ends up like:

Damien struggles with the need to be accepted while constantly suffering micro-aggressions for being who he is. When he gets the courage to do it, he points it out and the people surrounding him promise they'll do better... then a few pages later they're back to the usual crap.

It's disheartening, and painfully familiar to me. I can empathise with how tired, frustrated, and depressed Damien gets in the middle of all this.

This aimlessness strikes him hard. He doesn't feel accepted anywhere. 

So when his villain grandfather offers him the chance to make a difference in the world by being the voice for villain's whose human rights are openly broken, Damien feels as if he finally has a purpose, a future, just the way he is. 

The best part about this book is how Damien starts to accept that he is who he is, regardless of what other people expect of him, regardless of what other people project his personality to be. 

Sadly he still fights for approval, but let's be real, that's what all of us do. Still it's a really powerful message.

So, let me summarise my thoughts on this book: 

• Great plot
• Great character development
• Believable family struggles
• Quest for self discovery
• Social issues properly addressed
• HILARIOUS

One thing I love in this series, and that's been slow building, is Damien's relationship with his sister Amelia. They outwardly hate each other, but when the going gets tough they're there for each other. That's so beautiful! I hope we'll see more of it in future books!

There is one thing I must be very critical about: this series deals with many social issues pertaining to minorities - violations of human rights, "fantastical racism", micro-aggressions, etcetera. 

But where are the actual minorities?!

Granted, not every character is extensively described, but is there anyone who is not white? 

This lack of diversity saddens me, it seems appropriative to address these issues with such a white cast of characters.

I hope I'm wrong and that I missed a few POC in the books, but even so I'm pretty sure none of them are main characters...

Still, as I said, this is one of my favourite series, and whenever I'm down I'll just read it and it cheers me up! So I highly recommend it!

Oh, and when will the hardback be available at the Book Depository? :(

Chelsea M. Campbell's official site

Buy The Betrayal of Renegade X

- amazon

- barnes and noble

- kobo

- itunes

Dark Skye (Immortals After Dark #14) by Kresley Cole

      

This is a difficult book to rate.

On the one hand I really loved the plot! I loved the characters! I loved the world building! I loved how feminist it was! I even, dare I say it, loved the angst.

But that dialogue? Wtf.

It was the most absurd, unbelievable dialogue I've read recently.

No one talks like that, no one. And I don't mean how old-timey it was, that's completely expected considering the characters' ages.

I mean how robotic everyone sounded. How much exposition there was every time someone opened their mouth. How everything was explained to the reader, as if we can't discern the plot for ourselves.

How no one would shut up, even while having sex! Really, they'd be hard at it and a constant stream of dialogue would accompany it...

So... I don't even know. Everything else is worth at least 4.5 stars... but it's all disconcertingly bogged down with that... thing that passed for dialogue.

Anyway, I still recommend it. It was a fun read, and I really felt for the characters and their story, they had depth, they were believable, and what's most important, I liked them. 

Kresley Cole's official site

Buy Dark Skye
@ The Book Depository (with free worldwide delivery!)

The Princess Curse by Merrie Haskell

4.5 stars... that will turn into a five star rating, once I have the sequel in my hands...

That is not to say that this ends with a cliffhanger. No, the story in this book is mostly properly resolved, especially the part about "The twelve dancing Princesses" retelling.
As for "Beauty and the Beast"?
We only get about two thirds of it, and having loved this story _ and its characters _ of course I want something more.

There's not much I can say without spoiling the story, so I'll just say this:
I loved the fact that the setting in which the plot takes place feels real. Very middle age, and as such the reality isn't sugared. This was a time of wars and famine.

The fact that Reveka_ despite being thirteen years old _ acts as someone much more mature than someone in our time would, because times were different. She goes about her chores without complaints or woes.

I loved the characters characterization: From Reveka, to her father _ not forgetting Dragos of which I want to know so much more _ it all felt realistic enough.

And last, I loved the writing!
Maybe because even though this tries to be middle grade it has an undeniable darker tone, that wouldn't be misplaced in an adult story.

For me the only thing that needs improving is the cover, which for me is just too juvenile. 

 

Author's Official Site 

 

Buy "The Princess Curse"

@Bookdepository.com 

The Deep End of The Sea by Heather Lyons

TW. Rape, Attempted Rape...

There are stories that you know hope you are going to love: this was one of them.
From the synopsis to the first pages of this book, I knew I was going to devour this!

"It’s a beautiful sight, which only saddens me, because all of that talk about death and beauty being intertwined is one of the biggest loads of crap I’ve ever heard. Death isn’t beautiful. Too often than not, it’s messy and brutal; even when done in sleep, there’s still that theft of breath, that failure of a heart. Death is an act of violence.
I should know. I am one of the most prolific murderers in history. And I think about death constantly."

And I definitely would have loved this, if all of a sudden the story hadn't changed to a YA/ new adult (with traces of cheesy) romance.

"All I can think is, stars above, I am so incredibly blessed to have this man in my life."

Don't get me wrong. I like to read romance just like everyone else, but when a story is supposed to be about a character's growth, a character who has been raped and mistreated by almost every one else who has come into contact with her, you bet I am going to get angry if I only get people telling that girl (I don't care about the two thousand years old she has in her, she reads as a sixteen year old)what to do!
And that is what happens in this story: Not for once do I see Medusa acting like an assertive woman.
Not for once does she feel grow-up to me. Something that ends up being even more problematic when she starts being sexual active with... you know who.

For me this book suffers from something I like to call "multiple personality book disorder" (I really should create a shelf for these books).
This is supposed to be a mythology retelling. Instead all I got from it was a teen soap opera. When you have Gods and Goddesses behaving as fluffy kittens out of some Regency novel, things are bound to get strange.
And boring...

Zeus in flip flops and shorts?
Aphrodite acting like some sort of romantic saint?
Hades consulting his Ipad while throwing amused glances to his wife, the lovely Persephone?
Athena acting like someone who needs a straitjacket?
Poseidon, the crazy obsessed rapist?
Could all of these characters be more one dimensional?
I don't think so.

I swear that I never thought I would encounter such an amount of giggling, eye rolling, blushing and snorting amongst these Greek divinities.
It got embarrassing to read... and boring :/
So, for the mythology part? This gets a zero.

This story was supposed to be about Medusa, and it was, up until the moment the curse is removed.
Way to soon in my opinion. When she loses her "monster body" and "her girls"( the snakes) she also loses her identity. From that moment on, until the very last page, we get treated to how sweet and kind Medusa (Dusa) flourishes among her friends' care.
Everyone decides every single thing for her! From what she should do to what she should wear. o_O
I just wanted to scream at the girl: Get a Backbone!

Much has been talked about the romance, and I agree, Hermes is a great guy( he would have been greater, if he had kept himself ensconced in the story's background).
And we get treated to that... a lot. I lost count to the amount of times Medusa tells us about his current eye colour: more green... more blue... more green again...
Like I said, her mental processes read as those of a young teen falling in love for the first time.
Which she does.
I guess this being a New Adult story explains all of that.

Towards the end, the drama and angst level got to such proportions that I really had to force myself to keep reading this!

Too long and filled with unnecessary details, this ended being a chore to finish.

______________


And to see what I had to go through I will leave you with some of my annotations while reading it

I've read 75%
_ Someone has just told Medusa that she isn't in condition to think properly all by herself...
o_o
Once again the character fails to show a hint of backbone.

_Medusa is now writing love letters to Hermes in her journal...
Ye, Gods :/
I just can't deal with this story's level of immaturity -_-

I've read 95%
Oh great, more incest. :/

Also... Greek Gods science  has no logic in it. -_-

Author's Official Site

Valentine ( The Brotherhood of Fallen Angels #1) by Heather Grothaus

Arc provided by Lyrical Press through Netgalley

Release Date: June 23 rd

DNF at 36%

Damn you... pretty, enticing book cover with your attractive eyes!
-_-
I admit it: the only reason I requested this was basically in the expectation that what was on the inside was as... interesting as what was on the outside.*shallow me hides in shame*

Look, if I didn't have anything else to read ( in the world) I would finish this. I could force myself to read it, but the more I kept advancing in the story, the more I kept hating the characters.
I then decided it was best for the two of us to go separate ways...



For a book that takes place in the twelve century ( or was it eleven? Never mind...) everything sounds and happens in a very fast forward way:
_ We have a protected maiden that decides to take matters upon herself to find some lost betrothed practically all by herself;
_ Her reactions do not fit someone of her time... especially a woman.
_Then there's Valentine who comes across as this mix of Antonio Banderas playing Zorro... and Puss in Boots...
It's his hat o_O it makes me think about the cat.

Reading the book synopsis made me hope for some dark, brooding, intense hero... and Valentine *meh* well for me he comes across more like a buffoon:

By the time I decided to DNF this, Mary (Maria) and Valentine were kissing.
Again...
Here's the thing: I didn't feel anything between them.
Nothing.
Rien.
Nada.
In fact I have no idea why they started kissing besides both of them being attractive people, as people in historical (contemporary, Ya, adventure...blah, blah, suspense...) are supposed to be!

The writing?
I didn't like it. It starts in third person, but the author keeps avoiding pronouns, so, for a long time, every single phrase has "Valentine did this... Valentine did that.
Then, still in third person one time we have Maria, other times we have Mary.
When she's being called Maria by Valentine it's one thing, but to have the narrator constantly changing her name, no thanks.
Also there were quite a number of "No's" that were supposed to be "Not's" ( -_- )was it only in my Kobo that that happened? Because it was strange.
This was an arc so may be that got corrected?
Either way, sorry, not my cup of tea.

Author's Official Site

Buy it:

Bookdepository.com

Arc approvals

(source: Netgalley)

"Seventeen-year-old Tark knows what it is to be powerless. But Okiku changed that. A restless spirit who ended life as a victim and started death as an avenger, she's groomed Tark to destroy the wicked. But when darkness pulls them deep into Aokigahara, known as Japan's suicide forest, Okiku's justice becomes blurred, and Tark is the one who will pay the price..."
 (Release Date: September 8 th)

                                                                                      

                                 (source: Netgalley)                        

"Welcome to the many worlds of New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong (Otherworld, Cainsville). As her SyFy channel series, Bitten, enters its second season, Armstrong continues to breathe new life into city-dwelling vampires, werewolves, and zombies. Now travel even further with her, to a post-apocalyptic fortress, a superstitious village, a supernatural brothel, and even feudal Japan.

In Led Astray, you’ll discover the stories of new characters from within and outside Armstrong’s popular novels. Here you will find two original tales from Cainsville, plus journeys to and beyond the worlds of Darkest Powers, Age of Legends, Otherworld, and more.

Bold and humorous, passionate and heart-stopping, here is Kelley Armstrong at her versatile best."

release date: October 1rst

Insanity of the Week

                                                    
                                         Random thoughts:

Not only have I been trying to cut down on my digital galleys requests, but I've also been having a hard time finding a story that will catch my interest. In that manner, and to avoid more negative reviews, I am now much more cautious in requesting titles by "unknown" authors.
I know that by acting that way, I may not find some brilliant works, but since I've been extremely familiar with the inverse, I opt to act on the cautious side.

That is not to say that all established and supposedly "well respected" authors are on my tbr list.
Because they aren't.
Authors who make it a hobby to harass and criticize those who review it, get a  permanently"get the hell out of my list" role.
Authors who can't take a negative review in a respectful manner, but choose instead to bring their whining to a social outlet, get no respect out of me. The latest drama queen role has been played  by the famous Joanne Harris who thought it was a good idea to quote a part of a reviewer's text on one of her tweets.
Of couse pats on the back were given. The reviewer was given the evil role character and all seemed to be well in the realm of bullshit.

As a member of Goodreads I had already read that review. A respectfull review, so the way the author reacted just rubbed  me the wrong way _ yes, I also want world peace and fluffy images of kittens _ in that manner, I decided to reblog some of the author's tweets. With some comments of mine... that the author took offense to.
Because... how dare I to express my "opinion" in such a freely manner?
Yes, really, that was said to me: I almost felt the corset being tightened.

Because of course being an author gives you the right to react to what one perceives as an attack.
But when one of us says anything on the subject, we are told to shut it.

Even today, after so many dramas, I still cannot understand how artists who should be aware of the subjectivity with which their art is going to received... react.
How can you not understand that not everyone is going to love your work?
And work it is. Don't call it baby.

When we're talking about a teenage writer  who has just written his/hers first book, I can give it a discount.
But when were talking about an established writer?
What is wrong with you people? Do you really want to be associated to people as Anne Rice and her antics?
Because you know, bad publicity will only take you so far.

And no, just because one of us has reviewed one of your books, that does not give you the right to attack or belittle us.

Also, just because we don't include our social security number of our reviews, it doesn't mean that we're bullies hiding behind an internet persona. It means we have some brains.
Hello, Kathleen Hale anyone?
Why don't you try to put yourself in our shoes and see how you'd react if you were constantly being attacked for not praising books that you can't stand.

Here's a pic of myself: does it change anything that I've said?