A Christian Historical Romance

I read this because it was recommended by Tashapolis on YouTube and she described it as "really good" and the ratings across all markets were also pretty unanimous about it being "really good". This historical romance is based of the Book of Hosea from the Hebrew Bible.

The first half of the book, I'm not gonna lie, was so difficult for me to get through. I'll try not to spoil too much but the main character Sarah goes through so much hardship that it's almost unbearable to read from her eyes. I guess that would be my only warning: this isn't lighthearted! Very different from the rom-com novels I'm used to. I dreaded having to go back into this world just to dive back into her anguish and unfortunate circumstances. Like if I was having a bad day, I'd try to read this book and my day would just turn even more sorrowful because of what Sarah has to go through.

Anyway, for some reason, I convinced myself to keep going ('some reason' being that this was actually really hard to obtain from the library and also because I wanted to see why it had gotten such good ratings). The second half of the book was great. I think it totally made up for the first half and by the end, you understand as a reader why all that bad stuff had to happen, not unlike the feeling of looking back at your own bad experiences and accepting it was necessary to have gone through them. The conclusion and character arc was powerful enough to resolve everything into a satisfying read. It's a gigantic complex arc for character development and along with the characters, you feel every ounce of guilt, hate, self-loathe they feel, but also patience, faith, redemption, and serenity.

I keep repeating it but the characters are really well done. Francine Rivers is a master at working with character flaws and letting that be the groundwork for relatability within the audience. Every character in here I related to...and that's kinda weird considering this was written in the 1850s during the California gold rush. The thing that I definitely appreciated the most - and probably one of the main reasons why it's so acclaimed - is the message about God's undying love for sinners. I usually steer away from thinking about these things but the Biblical messages are constantly present and interweaved throughout the story and it's not something that sits lightly on your chest when you're trying to grasp the magnitude of that God-given love it's trying to illustrate.

To wrap it up, here's an accurate and beautiful art portrayal from THEJANARENEE

Goodreads Summary: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11422.Redeeming_Love?ac=1&from_search=true

Rating: 4/5 stars

Fran's Review on Six of Crows 4 years after Lys's Review

Hello, I am here fresh from flipping through the last page of Leigh Bardugo's acknowledgements for Six of Crows. This is the link to Alyssa's original review in 2015 . Man, where do I start! The first thing I want to say is that Bardugo is an INCREDIBLE writer and it shows; I can't really pinpoint what she does differently and granted, every writer has their own renowned style, but stepping into the Grisha universe for the first time really astounded me. The world building was like no other and every nook and cranny seemed to be filled with real characters and real plot and a real world. Am I making sense? I'm trying to say it just seems like there's nothing that she didn't think of when building this empire and that's the reality of mastering the craft I guess, like you can just tell she's a writer and she knows what she's doing.

Going off of how vibrant and tangible this world is, it's the same way with her characters. They are all so fully-fleshed out and wonderfully executed (not literally) on paper. She uses the perfect amount of description to make us feel like we know them really well by the end of the book but also knows how to avoid over-saturating each chapter with too much dialogue or too much characterization (which I think is a common folly that just ends up making characters feel flat and boring) - I don't know everything just felt so well-done. Like if I was a teacher and if I was grading her work, damn I would send in my recommendation for some kind of special award right away.

So the book is told from multiple perspectives and it surrounds six characters, embarking on this crazy heist. The plot flashes from present time to the past and gently weaves in the background context to how they all end up in this scenario and why they are the way they are. I really appreciated that the plot was never predictable; I don't think I could ever figure out what was going to happen next and that proved to be something that kept me hooked 'till the very last page. I do want to say though that because this was my first taste of the Grisha universe, a lot of new information was thrust in my face and I didn't really know how to wrap my mind around it until a bit later when I thankfully forced myself to keep going.  It took my 153 pages to really get invested and involved in the story (I think a big part of that was because Avengers: End Game had been on my mind since I saw it, along with stress of school so it's all to say that reading this book was not really the first think I wanted to do but this is actually dipping into another topic that I will probably write about very soon so let's veer back before I get way too off track) and OF COURSE me being me, the one thing that nicked my attention in place was the teeeeeeeensiest tiiiiiiiiniest bit of romance that Bardugo dangles subtley over our heads from page 153 onward. Ugh, I'm sorry I'm such a sucker for that stuff I can't help it.

I'm going to agree with 2015 Lys and say that my favorite character was definitely Inej as well, specifically because she made being invisible feel FRICKIN COOL. Not being seen or heard when you enter the room? It's a potential point of insecurity that she turns into a superpower. My next favorite is Nina because she's sassy but badass and then Kaz because I can always believe he has the upper hand even when he doesn't (and I love those spurts of sudden vulnerability sprinkled throughout the story) then comes Jesper and Wyland tied with one another and then finally, Matthias.

I don't know why it took me so long to read Six of Crows but this is leading me to back track and say: I should've taken all of Lys's book recommendations to heart. In addition to Leigh Bardugo, I've devoured books that I didn't even realize Lys already wrote reviews for: from V.E. Schwab (This Savage Song) to Sarah J. Maas (ACOMAF series) to Madeline Miller's Song of Achilles and I am constantly in awe of how powerful and comforting stories like these can be. Plus, they're written incredibly well and definitely worth keeping on your shelf to refer back to whenever you want to know what good writing is like.

Rating: 5/5

Neal Shusterman Does it Again

Not gonna lie, I thought I would grow out of my YA phase by now but I find myself reverting right back into it as college gets worse (and it has gotten a lot worse). I guess I had an urge to cut ties with the genre in an attempt to mold a more sophisticated mindset now that I'm - you know *clears throat, straightens jacket* - an adult. Of course, I've realized that buying a bunch of self-help and better living autobiographies won't actually foster my maturity if I can't help falling asleep before the second chapter anyway.

Ever since I read Unwind, Neal Shusterman has made quite a remarkable impression as one of my favorite authors. Whereas Rainbow Rowell is known for her feel good romances, Neal Shusterman has a way of leaving his readers truly amazed by the endless possibilities that stem from his imagination.

Scythe is no exception. The premise is that humans have surged into a future where immortality is now possible with the technology that we've achieved. Yet, since there's nothing controlling an exponentially growing population, there are professional reapers called 'scythes' who choose people to kill everyday. This is their cure to control a world of immortals. Just by that alone - how are you not enticed by a refreshing take on life and death??

The plot is wonderfully executed (LOL) and the characters have just the right amount of depth to them that you find yourself getting attached to the protagonists and hoping for the demise of the antagonists. The story is told from multiple perspectives, which interweave to produce an adventurous fantasy/sci-fi whirlwind.

Shusterman has literary trademarks that I find interesting to note because they're so consistent, I feel like I would be able to identify his work even if he wrote it anonymously:

1. multiple characters, multiple perspectives
2. main protagonists usually involve one boy and one girl who somehow become romantically involved with one another 
3. the romance is well done carrying a realistic love/hate undertone; it's there to propel the story and engage the readers in fun companionship. it's not overly irrational or sappy. 
4. the girls are not merely there to assist the boys. they are analytical and strong and not annoying and overall badass 
5. countless "what happens next?" moments. due to the nature of his unprecedented ideas, there is never really a cookie-cutter way to predict how his stories unfold. every twist and turn is surprising and keeps you hooked 
6. unfortunately, if there was a siiiiiingle "eh" thing that I would say about Shusterman's novels, it's that the first of the series is typically the best and after that, it just seems like he doesn't know how to wrap it up (but maybe that's just me) they're still good though! 

No matter what anyone says, there's no doubt - the man's a genius. 

I recommend Scythe 100%; it's definitely now one of my favorites of all time. 

Goodreads Summary: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28954189-scythe?from_search=true

Rating: 5/5 

Review: Warcross (Contains Spoilers)

Whoa, it's been such a long time! So many things have happened since we last posted:
For one, Alyssa is in Scotland right now starting her year at St. Andrews (😱 🙌 ). We are both on our way to trudge through our second year of undergrad. And no big deal, but Alyssa has also been working on like 3 different novels nonstop - it's crazy!

Things that haven't changed:
I'm still in a pretty deep reading slump, which is why I felt compelled to write a review on Warcross by Marie Lu!

The fact that I've been able to finish this in less than a span of three months is a big feat on its own. Something about Marie Lu's characterization and world building always pulls me in, and this one was no exception. I loved the colorful, futuristic, alternate universe of New York and Tokyo. It's the first time I've read about something technologically advanced that isn't automatically deemed as a dystopian. If you loved Legend by Marie Lu as much as I did, you would know that it's difficult to restrain yourself from comparing any novel by her to June and Day's story. I found myself doing exactly this and realized that right off the bat, Warcross immerses itself quite well in the sci-fi genre. In fact, almost all the action scenes are based on virtual reality, so depending on whether or not you would like that concept, you'll find yourself either loving the refreshing way she describes these scenes or being frustrated that the tech-savvy jargon is a bit harder to grasp.

Like I said, I really love, admire, and trust Marie Lu's writing, so when an insta-romance appeared between the two main characters, I was a little dubious with the way she approached it. Because of Day and June, I was used to a love story with a gradual arc and unpredictable complexity. Something about Emika and Hideo (the main characters in Warcross) was just too easy for me to believe it completely - almost to the point where the romance got stale, became nothing but pages of lustful kisses and secret rendezvous that proved to be irritatingly irrelevant to the main plot arc. I should have known a plot twist was in the works though.

The only thing that was kind of a bummer was that Hideo's complexity didn't surface until the last ten pages or so. Because of that, I felt like I didn't receive the satisfaction of watching him grow. I did appreciate it a lot when Emika stayed true to her character, instead of caving into the tempting romance that usually dictates a lot of protagonists' alliances. To be honest, by the end of the book, I found myself being intrigued the most by Zero, the villain. His mysteriousness, meticulousness, and unpredictability aligned more with the interesting characters that Marie Lu usually has in her novels (aka Day).

I do wish that it wasn't such a cliff-hanger. There were so many loose ends that weren't tied by the end, which was why I gave the book a lower rating than I anticipated when I was first starting it. The beginning was the best part for me because all the excitement of being in this new, well-developed world was enough to keep turning the page. (Also, I think it's important to note that I was probably a bit biased. The story that I've been brewing up in my head for the past 2 years has some eerily similar aspects to Lu's world and I wanted to keep reading to figure out if it my story had in fact already been written by this best-selling author. Luckily - and with Alyssa's reassurance - it wasn't exactly the same, which gives me a HUGE relief.)

Emika Fan Art (image from Entertainment Weekly)

Goodreads Summary: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29385546-warcross?ac=1&from_search=true
Rating: 3.5/5

A Lil Update

  

I am kinda...
like...
really miserable.

Not only because college life is difficult (aka when all the academic, social, financial, family complications come at you in one big kamekameha attack) but because I haven't really been reading or writing all that much anymore. Sure, a lot of it is because I don't have any free time for any leisure reading. But even when I do, I'm just not into it. When I'm reading a new novel, I feel like it's a waste of time. When I'm trying to write a fiction story, I feel guilty for not focusing on my problems in the real world. Either way, I just end up looking for something else to do because I get so frustrated that these hobbies don't give me the peace and satisfaction that I used to get from them.

Admitting that out loud feels like a sick punch to the throat - like I'm saying goodbye to the one thing that has been my comfort and security. I can't help but think about how I'll be like two, three, six years down the road. Will I ever get back into the whole fictional world again? Or does growing up require a trade off between imagination and success? Maybe it's because I'm a STEM major that I'm thinking this way? I can't even articulate my words correctly. I have no idea if this post is making the slightest bit of sense.

I do know that I feel really lost - not just with my career and academic work, but also with my inner self. Books and fictional worlds in general were (are) a big part of me and I don't know why I keep insisting to push them away but now, I get really sad and it's not as easy for me to jump into a new world to distract myself anymore.

Here's a couple of pictures that will hopefully counter the negativity of this update:

 

 

(If you see a nature post on my instagram, 99% of the time it's because I'm feeling blue-er than usual. I think it's a funny way to keep track of my emo social media moments lol) 

It's Been A While

Welp, I failed in all endeavors to update this blog while I was away at college. There were many times I felt the need to post something, but these actually take a lot of time and thought from me, and in the grind of school, those things aren't expendable, not like they were in high school and over break.

Now that I'm on winter break and don't have to think about school for a whole month, I figured I'd start these reviews (more like rants) again.

Being an English major and taking all humanities courses this past semester I had to do A LOT of reading. But here I will be focusing on my leisurely reading done over college, which wasn't a lot. I may eventually do a review on the Iliad or other words I thoroughly enjoyed during this semester, but the focus is on the three books I read during the past four months for nothing more than pure enjoyment:

1. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
2. A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab
3. A Gathering of Shadows by VE Schwab

(I actually just finished another one of Schwab's works, Vicious, but that was finished over break so it doesn't count here; review to come independently later)

I've been on the hunt for Song of Achilles since this summer but was only able to obtain the book just before I left for college. I brought it with me on my cross-country journey to a new state and new school but didn't start it until I got into the groove of college-level education, which was around mid-September, also coincidentally around the same time I finished the Iliad for my Greek and Roman Mythology class. 

The Song of Achilles was a beautifully written novel, unique despite its classic basis. I was actually able to write about the novel in my final paper for the course since the topic was on a modern retelling of myth. Here's a little excerpt: "While the entire plot of the Iliad can be traced back to the theme of its opening line, Achilles’s rage, the true meaning of Homer’s song is debated in modern times by Madeline Miller, author of Orange Prize-winning 2012 novel, The Song of Achilles. With the title itself being a clear parallel to the Iliad’s opening lines, it may come as a surprise that the novel is, first and foremost, a love story" 

And a love story it is--a tragic one. Even if a reader does know the outcome of Achilles and Patroclus (like me), the book is still an emotional rollercoaster, following events even after main characters' deaths. I was sobbing in my dorm through the last 60 pages, and then had to leave for a date party like 30 minutes later. I was a mess, and this book gave me the biggest book hangover I've felt probably since All for the Game trilogy from summer break. The love between Achilles and Patroclus was so raw yet soft and endearing, and its ultimate doom was a tragic arc to follow but mesmerizing all the same. I'm a masochist and would often pick the book off my shelf just to read through the scene of Achilles's reaction to Patroclus's death, a horrible event in both the Iliad and The Song of Achilles. Of course, I had some issues over how some heroes of the Trojan War were portrayed, but each retelling of mythology is entitled to its unique interpretation, and overall, I appreciated Miller's. 5/5

The next book I read for leisure didn't come until November. Until then, I'd spent my reading time on An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir, an author I wholly appreciate as a person and as an activist in many issues, but for some reason, I could not for the life of me get into her acclaimed novel. Perhaps I'll try again later, but as of now I'm stuck at 60% and feel little inclination to finish the last 40.

Anyway, I finally finished another fun book in November, and that book was A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab. This book was absolute magic. I can find no better word to embody this novel. I'd had on my Kindle since the first book went on sale for ~$2 on Amazon. I've been eyeing this book for a while, but I only started reading for the sake to get away from An Ember in the Ashes, which I was also reading on my Kindle. Soon, I found that this was the book I'd been looking for all semester, something wonderful and imaginative and magical. The characters are vivid and enjoyable and really come off the page, but I am personally partial to Lila Bard, the female lead of the series. Her quotes, such as "I'd rather die on an adventure than live standing still", stuck with me, and I adored her as a person. I mean, it's pretty hard for me to not fall in love with a cross-dressing thief-pirate with a knack for making the worst decision and pulling them off. Also her thing for knives and magic is pleasant. I could go on forever and ever about Lila Bard and Kell and Rhy and the rest of this book with its beautiful and diverse worldbuilding, but I will keep this short and say that this was one of my favorite books of 2016, as was its sequel, A Gathering of Shadows. There is one scene in this that I pretty much have memorized, along with other scenes that were equally wonderful.I hungrily anticipate the third and final book, A Conjuring of Light!

5/5: A Darker Shade of Magic

5/5: A Gathering of Shadows

Mini Reviews: Mean Streak, The Wrath and the Dawn, & Slammed

Ahh, I haven't been on here in a while, so please excuse my very poorly-written reviews. None of them contain spoilers, but none of them contain summaries of the content either. (Feel free to click on the Goodreads link beforehand) It's basically just my thoughts on what I liked and disliked. I've been in a major reading slump this whole year, so I'm really grateful to have come across some great novels this summer.


Mean Streak by Sandra Brown is one of the first adult fiction novels I've read and I loved it. Not gonna lie, I mainly bought this book because it was only $3 in the bargain section at Barnes and Noble, but girrl let me tell you - this is such an exciting, action-packed read. There were so many plot twists and secrets that you can't help but keep turning the page. Since the book is definitely geared towards mature readers, I would definitely say that the romance is a lot more...intense (sex is not censored lol) so proceed with caution if you're not used to that stuff. On a more serious note, the problems that these characters have to deal with (marriage, affairs, death, rape, etc.) can be an eye-opener because no matter how far-fetched and ridiculous it may play out in a fictional story, these horrible things happen in real life to real people. Brown does a good job of manipulating the readers' feelings to suit the plot, and this played a big factor in leading us to certain conclusions while she's setting up something completely different without us knowing. You won't get bored with this book and I highly, highly recommend!!

Goodreads Summary: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20454672-mean-streak?from_search=true
Rating: 5/5
*Recommended for mature audiences (18+)

As someone who isn't a huge fanatic about fantasy novels, The Wrath and the Dawn (#1) and The Rose and the Dagger (#2) by Renee Ahdieh were surprisingly addicting. First of all, I didn't know that this duo-logy was supposed to be a retelling of Arabian Nights, until Alyssa told me. Second of all, I don't even know the premise of Arabian Nights, so it wouldn't have made a difference in my opinion of the novels anyway. The world is beautifully described; the middle-eastern culture is so richly & consistently portrayed in everything: language, wardrobe, names, etc. One of the things I couldn't get enough of was the relationship between the two main characters: Sharzhad and Khalid. Renee Ahdieh did a good job of showing that relationships are much more than possession, which is a very crucial message to send out to younger teens. “It was because they were two parts of a whole. He did not belong to her. And she did not belong to him. It was never about belonging to someone. It was about belonging together.” -The Rose and the Dagger One of the notable themes that the author made sure to incorporate was feminism - and just how important it is in any culture. Sharzhad is an extremely strong character yet she's rational and doesn't lose her wits when she doesn't get what she wants. She can handle her own and doesn't need anyone to save her from anything. It contains a bit of mystery and magic as well, so if you're into that, check it out. (If you're not into that, check it out anyway. It's good.)

Goodreads Summary: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18798983-the-wrath-the-dawn?ac=1&from_search=true
Rating for both books: 4.5/5

Colleen Hoover! Such a well-known author in the contemporary genre. I don't know why I didn't pick up her books sooner. I read Slammed (#1) and Point of Retreat (#2) and they're the type of books that pull you out of an extremely long reading slump. At least, that's what happened in my case. I believe this is also categorized in adult fiction, but it's not as graphic as Sandra Brown's novels. This is mostly a romance/contemporary novel, unlike the books above which dabble in varying genres. Although that might sound appalling and boring to some people, trust me, it's not. Unless you don't like romance at all...then in that case, I wouldn't recommend this to you. The chemistry between the characters are so fun to read that it becomes normal to read one of these Hoover novels in a day. I'm a huge sucker for romance, but a lot of the times, I end up not finishing contemporary novels because it's too boring to go through. I was worried that this was how this book was going to turn out in the beginning because there's that instant, love-at-first-sight sort of passage within the first couple pages. However, the one thing that's different with this is that there are many plot twists and that factor is good enough to make you keep going. The characters have to deal with some heavy stuff like death, grief, and illness, which makes them very relatable and all the more better. One last thing I loved was the incorporation of spoken word poetry. In order to achieve the feeling of this, Hoover emphasizes different words by italicizing them or breaking them down - all so that you can try to hear it being performed as you're reading, which is very cool.

Goodreads Summary: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13372690-slammed?from_search=true
Rating for both books: 4/5