The Sunday Post (2)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~this meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~ It's a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

On the blog

• The Young Elites Review (4/5) 
• Top Five Wednesday (which was posted on Wednesday but now says posted on Friday...)
• Finnikin of the Rock (4/5)

Little bit of a weird week this week, but I managed to get both my review's up so I deserve a pat on the back, to be quite honest. It's my birthday weekend (with my birthday being tomorrow!!!!) So I'm hoping to get some books + another trip to the library is due to happen.

I'm still getting into a schedule, so bare with me everyone! I'll be working for my dad the last two weeks of July, so god knows those two weeks will be a little messed up when it comes to posts, but I'm going to try my best!

How has your week been?

Things on your Bookshelf that aren't Books

TOP FIVE WEDNESDAY

This week's Top Five Wednesday theme is things on your bookshelf that aren't books! I have three bookshelves in the back room where all my books are, so theres an eclectic range of things. 

First thing is a signed tennis ball, and all the signatures are from the Delray Beach Open. Signatures include Andy Roddick, the Bryan Brothers, and Jack Sock.

There's currently about six yearbooks stacked on one of my bookshelves, since both my sister and I would each get yearbooks. The one above is from my senior year in high school!

Weights are also on the bookshelf, because my dad has no where else to put them back here. 

Two magazine holders are also featured on the bookshelf, and they hold all my Time magazine's from when I was subscribed. I subscribed for about two years because I was in the debate program at my school.

The last things that are also on my shelves are textbooks and review books for all the AP classes I took in school, along with dual enrollment classes I took!

What do you have on your shelf that aren't books?

Review: Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

"Finnikin of the Rock and his guardian, Sir Topher, have not been home to their beloved Lumatere for ten years. Not since the dark days when the royal family was murdered and the kingdom put under a terrible curse. But then Finnikin is summoned to meet Evanjalin, a young woman with an incredible claim: the heir to the throne of Lumatere, Prince Balthazar, is alive.

Evanjalin is determined to return home and she is the only one who can lead them to the heir. As they journey together, Finnikin is affected by her arrogance . . . and her hope. He begins to believe he will see his childhood friend, Prince Balthazar, again. And that their cursed people will be able to enter Lumatere and be reunited with those trapped inside. He even believes he will find his imprisoned father.

But Evanjalin is not what she seems. And the truth will test not only Finnikin's faith in her . . . but in himself."

I've been looking for a good fantasy series for awhile; I never really got into Game of Thrones (especially with the tv show now and questionable themes turn me off even more) and when I saw that my library had Finnikin of the Rock, I decided to give it a chance. Hot damn, am I glad I did.

My first thought when I ended the book was "this is how you write fantasy". I understand that fantasy worlds are often medieval in type, and questionable things happened in the medieval world, but you can write a successful book, or book series, without having characters die on every page and destroying female characters.

Yes, the book took a bit to fully understand everything that was going on. A couple of times while I was reading, I had to stop and be like "wait what" and re-read a sentence. But, I'm a werido and sometimes enjoy taking awhile to get into a book, if the book shows promise and that the further you get into the book, you find out more about the world, and thats what this book did. The further you got, the more pieces of puzzle you received.

I'm not gonna lie, the fact that they took Evanjalin's word regardless, even though most of the characters at some point were all "she's a liar!!!!! she doesn't have the sight!!!!" was a little annoying, and very repetitive. However, I did enjoy that Marchetta didn't create weak female characters; every female character in the novel was strong, not afraid to rule, and not afraid to be bossy, it was fantastic.

The slow-burn was also quite nice, even though the romantic theme seemed to be thrown in just to be thrown in. I think the book would of been fine without the romantic notion, but I understand how it fits into the plot in its own weird way. Could the plot have been re-worked to survive without the romance? Yes, but Marchetta wrote the romance tastefully, so it worked well, in my opinion.

This book is like, 4.25. Not a four, but not a four point five, I'm just going to create a rating because I can.

Review: The Young Elites by Marie Lu

"I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.

Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.

Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.

Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.

Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.

It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt."

Back in 2014, when I read the Legend Series for the first time, Marie Lu quickly became one of my favorite authors. I was pretty late to the game, and The Young Elites was basically coming out by the time I finished the trilogy. Lo and behold, another year later, I finally managed to read it.

Right away, the story hooked me. The idea that none of the characters were innately good fascinated me. They aren't the typical heroes; The Young Elites are shunned by society because of what they were turned into (something they couldn't control) and because of that, they aren't afraid to do what's needed, even if it is morally compromising. Adelina leads the group for being one of the most fascinating, and rightly so. Most of the book is about her story, and its interesting to see her battle with the darkness inside her, embracing it when she uses her power, and not knowing the results of her embracing the darkness that festers inside her. Her transformation at the end of the book was jaw dropping, and also refreshing, in a world where the female characters are typically seen as the morally good characters.

Another interesting component of the book was the friendship between Adelina and Raffaele, in that it was completely, totally, platonic. There was no one sided liking or such, which basically had me screaming from the mountains, because its an element that is missing from a lot of YA books. Raffaele himself is also an interesting character. Right away, he knew shit would go down if they accepted Adelina into the fold, and when it does go down, he does whats best for the remaining Young Elites. There's not "we can fix this!!!!" talk, which is quite refreshing.

The rest of the characters were equally dynamic. I wanted to punch Teren pretty much THE WHOLE BOOK, and I couldn't really form an opinion on Enzo because every time his name was said, I would think of Ezio from Assassin's Creed 2 (who lets face it, is pretty epic).

Marie Lu continued to impress, giving us this gritty, realistic fantasy world. I'm excited for the sequel, which knowing me, will take me till 2016 to read.

Florida Supercon

This weekend I attended Florida Supercon, one of the largest con's in Florida, and it was so, so exciting! It was technically my first con, since the only other convention I attended was Infinitus, a Harry Potter Convention held in the Summer of 2010, so its been a couple of years.

There were panels, and then you could also wander around the convention hall either getting autographs (some paid, some free) and then wander into the merch area, which also had artist alley, where artists could show off their wares and you could buy them!

One of the first panel's I went to was a Power Ranger panel, and while some of the members couldn't come because of flight issues (I think), Cerina Vincent was still wonderful to hear talk! She played Maya in Lost Galaxy, and was one of the few that went on to act after appearing on Power Rangers.

The next panel I went to was Jim Shooter, who was the Editor in Chief for Marvel for 10 years, and created the Secret War storyline. He was hilarious to listen to, and had so many stories about that time period, and it was so great to hear him talk, and also hear his opinion on new Marvel, and also even how Marvel was run back then. His biggest comment was about how while the comics of today are wonderfully drawn, the storytelling isn't as strong as it used to be.

Jim Shooter

The last panel on Friday I went to was Brett Dalton's panel, who is an actual cinnamon roll too pure for this world. He wore a shark shirt. With matching shoes. I died.

His panel was hilarious, I was laughing the whole time, because he took it semi-seriously. My favorite quotes were "I still ship Skyward", "I would of gone for Jemma Simmons" and his way of saying Shield and Hydra, Shydra. He also refuses to believe that Ward actually shot the dog, and he loves all three of the theories about who Ward might be (Punisher, Hellfire, Taskmaster).

Saturday was insane. While Friday you could actually move around and spend time looking around, Saturday was packed. I also went with my parents, so the ability to look around and be a total nerd had to be a little turned down, which was disappointing (like they wouldn't let me spend $60 on Hayley Atwell's autograph, rude). 

I went to three more panels on Saturday, the first of which was Allen Bellman's, who is one of the last Marvel inkers/pencillers from the Golden Age era. He had plenty of stories also, and as one of the originally inkers of Captain America, it was honestly just an honor being in the same room as him.

Allen Bellman

Eliza Taylor's panel was the next panel I attended, and it was interesting. A lot of the questions were for her to say hi to people's friends, which was a little annoying, but there was a good amount of questions about Clarke's character development, and also the Lexa/Clarke and Bellamy/Clarke ships, which was nice to hear about. My favorite comment from the panel was about how Eliza hopes Clarke will be next season, she wants Clarke to be a little "weird" since she's kind of just wandering around the forest. 

The last panel of the weekend, which was arguably my favorite, was Hayley Atwell's Q&A. She is literal queen. She confirmed that Peggy Carter is bisexual, because she's a modern women, dammit. She also loved being on the Cap 3 set because she could do nothing except annoy Chris, and she loves pranking Chris Evans because she like seeing a "true alpha male" jump out of his skin at the pranks. Brett Dalton also crashed the Q&A, asking about how Peggy would feel about the growing threat of Hydra now that Ward is leader, and Hayley would love a time travel episode if she could force Ward to the side of good again (or at least thats what I think she said, memory is a little iffy because she's actually perfect).

So, the moral of the story is go to cons. Also bring a lot of money to said cons. Basically just go to your local cons, and have tons of fun. 

TV Breakdown: The Closer and Major Crimes

Fun little fact about me: if there's a crime show on tv, I've probably seen at least one episode. I'm kind of addicted to crime shows, its an actual problem, which is why I've spent the past week and a half marathoning all seven seasons of The Closer and three seasons of Major Crimes.

The Closer premiered on TNT in 2005, and its last episode aired in 2012, and thats when Major Crimes, the show's spin-off, started airing. Both shows are about the LAPD's fictional Major Crimes division, which deals with high profile homicides.

What I loved about these two shows is that they actively delt with issues we all know. Race, sexual identity, gender identity, gangs, terrorism, were all on the forefront in several episodes, and one of Major Crime's episodes about a transgender 13 year old who was killed actually made me tear up.

Both shows have a female in charge, The Closer having Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, and Major Crimes having Captain Sharon Raydor. The cast is also diverse, as you can see above, which is also a great thing to see on television, especially in a time where POC casting is a large issue.

Overall, I really, really loved watching these shows. they were fast paced, had just the right amount of personal drama, and is continuing to keep me hooked, as Major Crimes moves into its fourth season (which is why I marathoned).

Major Crimes airs Mondays at 9/8c on TNT.

PS. Friday & Sunday won't have the usually scheduled posts: I'll be attending Florida Supercon, and Tuesday will feature my recap on that experience!

Top 5 Characters You Wish You Could Drown

TOP FIVE WEDNESDAY

TOP 5 CHARACTERS YOU WISH YOU COULD DROWN

Welcome to my first Top Five Wednesday! I was actually really excited for this topic, it was scary how easy it was for me to pick my top five hated characters basically.

In no particular order:

1. Octavian from the Heroes of Olympus Series - This shithead, honestly, if it wasn't for him, the seven could of had SO MANY less problems. He was so annoying, and I just wanted either someone to punch him or for Rachel to out prophecy him and sass him.
2. Maven from the Red Queen - To those of you that haven't read Red Queen, read it. Then you'll understand why I would not only drown him, I'd bring him back up and drown him again, because he deserves it.
3. Clancy Gray from The Darkest Minds Trilogy - I have a tumblr post going (excuse my french) that says clancy gray is the definition of a fuckboy. He is. If you looked up the definition of the word, it would just be a picture of him.
4. Aria from Under the Never Sky - I never read the second and third books, so I honestly can't say if she gets better, but she's literally, so annoying. I can't stand her. I thought I was going insane when I read the book the first time, and when I tried to re-read it, I remembered why I disliked it. This girl.
5. America Singer from The Selection series - Her name itself annoys me, and most of her actions and the people she surrounds herself do also. Can I just drown the series? 

List of Wednesday-ers

Review: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

"A lyrical novel about family and friendship from critically acclaimed author Benjamin Alire Sáenz. 

Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be."

This book.

This. Book.

I honestly don't really have words to describe my admiration for this book, I really don't. I've heard about this book on tumblr and on blogs, and when I went to my local library (which doesn't have the best selection), I was honestly surprised to see this book on the shelf, my mom even asking me why I was reading an LGBTQ book and I just gave her the look. But I was so, so glad I decided to check it out.

One of my absolute favorite things about this book was the writing. Sáenz manages to capture you in within the first page, within the first sentence.

"One summer night I fell asleep, hoping the world would be different when I woke."

The book is in the POV of Aristotle, known throughout the book as Ari. It cover's Ari's sophomore year through senior year of high school, as he struggles with his identity, not only his personal identity, as a Mexican-American, but also his sexual identity.  Ari befriends Dante when he's fifteen, and trying to learn how to swim, and as the book unravels, Dante's sexual orientation becomes rather clear, where Ari is possibly even more confused when Dante comes out to him.

The characterization of Ari and Dante, some of which I mentioned above, is also one of the main elements about the book that I loved. The book is wonderful, because the characters are believable. The time period, the boy's ethnicities, even the struggles they face at home, help create wonderful, well rounded characters that give the book the realness that causes people to cry when they reach the end (don't worry, they were happy tears).

Five out of five stars. Everyone needs to read this book.

The Sunday Post (1)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~this meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~ It's a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

Magical Stories will turn one week old on Tuesday! Posts will be on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday (which was a little different from the past week). Bear with me as I tweak a couple of things and get into the jam of blogging!

Book reviews for Snow Like Ashes and The Winner's Curse were on the blog this week, and I also talked about Dark Matter, one of Syfy's new shows.

I'm still in the process of re-reading City of Bones, and I finished Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe last night and cried. Book review for that will be coming up soon!

I still have three books left to read from my library haul, Finnikin of the Rock, The Young Elites, and the Da Vinci Code, and I also just bought The 5th Wave and I'm looking forward to reading that.

I'm also slowly making my way through Marvel comics, and I'm following a reading order I found online that starts at the very first Fantastic Four, so it should be a journey, but I'm excited for it! My dad also told me we might be able to go to Florida Supercon, and I'll cry if we do because Hayley Atwell, Brett Dalton, Eliza Taylor and Bob Morley will be there and ugly fandom tears will be everyone, especially if I get an autograph.

Finally, Happy Father's Day to all!

Review: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

"Winning what you want may cost you everything you love...

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart."

It was so, so exciting to be able to read a book and enjoy it so much. I've been seeing this book (and the series) getting so much hype around the booktube and blogger community, and it was so thrilling to be able to sit down and read this book and just appreciate it so much.

The writing was one thing that dragged me into the novel right away. Usually POV changes can annoy me fairly quickly if they aren't done correctly, but Rutkoski created such a clear definition between Kestrel and Arin's thoughts that it was easy to keep the two separate. With a plot that needed both sides of the story to be explained so we could see how both halves of the world lived, the Dual POV was very much needed, and it brought the story to another level by having it be so effective.

The characters and the world building were also done fantastically well. Kestrel and Arin were both well developed, and so were some of the side characters. Little moments between Kestrel and her father, and also Kestrel and her friends, not only developed Kestrel as a character, but also them. The world building was also great; just enough to keep you interested, but at the same time not enough so you were anxious to keep reading and find out more.

Surprisingly, I also enjoyed the elements of the love story in the book. It helped build on the plot, it didn't hinder it, and it also didn't hinder Kestrel as a character, and I loved how she used the fact that Arin loved her to her advantage. The plot twist at the end of the book threw me for a loop, and it was the perfect way to end the first book in a trilogy.

I can't wait to read the next two books, solid 4 out of 5 stars.

TV Breakdown: Dark Matter (Syfy)

Promotional Picture

Dark Matter is a brand new Syfy show that premiered on June 12th, 2015. It's based on a comic series of the same name, and there will be 13 episodes in the first season.

When I'm bored, I like to troll around on xfinity and find new summer shows, because all the shows I watch are done by the start of summer. I stumbled upon Dark Matter when looking up the premise of Bitten (another Syfy show) and decided to give it a try.

Right away, the show was hooking. The premise of the show is that six individuals awake on a ship, with no memories of who they are, and they're only help being an android originally programmed to basically kill them. By the end of the first episode, they find out the truth, and while I had an inkling of what to expect by the end, it wasn't what was revealed.

The first episode gave us a little bit of everything, some of which was a little expected. Each of the six had a defined roll that they were good out (a pilot, two fighters, two geniuses, and one diplomatish person) and the typical "one of us needs to be a leader!!" conversation was started by trigger happy Three (who wanted to be the leader), but two (one of the female geniuses) pretty much took charge and no! one! complained! It was fantastic, and it fit with Syfy's run of having a female in power/being more than just a love interest.

Overall, it was a good pilot episode. We got a taste of whats to come, and a little explanation on how the world works. I'm excited to see how the show will pan out, and how the crew will deal with having no memories, but knowing what they're capable of.

Dark Matter is on Syfy on Friday's at 10/9 central.

Review: Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

"Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own."

Snow Like Ashes has been on my radar for a little while, but I finally got around to reading it because of The Summer Reading Book Club! It was the choice for fantasy, and I'm really glad it was, because this book brought me through a whirlwind of emotions.

Honestly, when I first started reading this book, the main thoughts that were going through my head were "hold up i'm hella confused what is going on???" The world building was not a strength in this book. Raasch attempts to explain what is going on, she really does, but each explanation kept barley breaking the surface, and I still don't have a reasoning of what was really happening in the book besides the fact that Spring was evil, Winter needed rescuing, and the Rhythm kingdoms were assholes. I honestly don't know if this was done purposefully, to keep us in the dark about what was actually going on to help with the plot twist at the end of the book, but regardless, I'm severely hoping the next books clear up some things. I have no idea how the magic works in this series, which is a little frustrating, because the plot basically revolves around the magic.

Combine the above feelings with my iffy feelings about the characters, and I honest to god thought I was going to hate this book, and the hype train would let me down (again). The first, ten or so chapters were spent with me wanting to hit my head against the wall. Meira wasn't a bad protagonist, she really wasn't, but certain things she did (mostly pertaining to boys) just itched me the wrong way. I did like how Raasch did build her character through the final chapters of the book, which is actually what turned my whole viewpoint of the book. When the plot twist came and launched itself into gloriousness, I was so, so on board. Meira seriously turned the book around for me at the end, because she came into her own right of being a BAMF essentially, and pretty much decided she didn't need any love interests help.

Now onto the other characters: Mather annoyed the hell out of me, surprise. It was very understandable that Meira would have a crush on him, he's attractive and also the only other guy around who is her age. However, his whole demeanor just rubbed me the wrong way, and his little to none character development didn't really help either. Theron surprisingly didn't annoy me, and I loved his failed rescue attempt (which reminded me of Hook's failure to rescue Emma because she did it herself in OUAT). It was hilarious, I loved it so much, especially because Meira just turned around and was like "yeah nope saving myself you gonna help?" His characterization also reminded me a bit of Dorian from the Throne of Glass series, which is a-ok, because I love that series, and princes who rebel against their fathers just like in 90's and early 2000's movies (No dad, I'm giving up your dream) is possibly my favorite characterization of all time.

The only other thing that bothered me about the book was about how short it seemed. The chapters weren't very long, and overall the book felt a little rushed to me. I think a lot more things could of been explained if the book had, like, five more chapters, or if five more pages were added to every chapter.

All in all, a decent book. Final rating is 3.5 stars, and I'll probably read the sequel just to see how the story progresses.