Monthly Wrap-Up: What a Fab February

HELLO MARCH! For some reason it’s still pretty chilly (well, as chilly as Florida can be haha) even though winter is over. Sorry for the semi-late monthly wrap-up! More details can be explained in the next section, but mainly I’ve been feeling like a bum because of a conference last weekend. NO WORRIES, because I have finally gotten back in the game and am commenting and drafting more posts as we speak! (or, as I type haha.) Without further ado, I give you One Way’s second wrap-up.

Okay so February was full of stress. I think my name is associated to stress, man. The other day I was saying in AP Lang how much I hate my life (but in the type of half-joking manner one does when one has tests and projects foisted upon one’s shoulders the period before) and my teacher goes “Don’t you say that every day?”

IT’S PRETTY BAD.

Luckily enough, I recently got an inspiration/motivation journal on sale from Michael’s to help me out on that. I’ve been lazy in writing it, but seeing it at least encourages me to be more positive.

On a fun note, I went to a Model UN conference last weekend, and am still recuperating from that. Basically we act as delegates to the UN and create resolutions for topics. So technically it’s still a lot of work, but fun work lol. We also met some Turkish students who were visiting America during the conference and they were interesting to talk to! My school won best delegation for the country of Cyprus (yay).

•  A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro – A modern retelling of Sherlock Holmes, featuring his descendant Charlotte Holmes and her counterpart, Jamie Watson. The murder mystery is just intriguing from start to finish!
  4 stars

• The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury – A freakin’ awesome retelling of Aladdin with a girl as the genie, a hot street rat, and a kickass princess. I seriously fell in love with not only the lovely atmosphere on this book, but the delightful characters as well. 
  5 stars

• Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner – This stellar conclusion to the Starbound trilogy was just all the amazingness wrapped up in a book. The story of the characters draw to a close as we finally confront the mysterious things that plague our characters.
  5 stars

• Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton – Desert setting, hot djinn, mysterious foreign strangers and a fierce girl who can shoot like no other – what more can a reader ask for? Definitely not to be missed out on.
  5 stars

• The Skylighter by Becky Wallace – The sequel of The Storyspinner, this book starts straight from where we left off in terms of action as the groups of characters, narrating with numerous POV’s, figure out how exactly to save the place they live in. I miss the characters already in this one.
  5 stars

• The Forbidden Orchid by Sharon Biggs Waller – Elodie joins her father to China during the time of the Opium wars on the hunt for a famed orchid that will save her family. Along the way, we see some a sweet romance and friendship develop, all while Elodie discovers who she truly wants to be.
  4 stars

• Riders by Veronica Rossi – Although this was fun and fast-paced, I had an odd disconnect with the characters and how immature they acted. Gideon almost dies and wakes up to realize that he become a reincarnation of War, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
  3 stars

I also reviewed these books on Happy Indulgence:

• Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan – Featuring an intricate world featuring a made-up language that highlights the art of language and fully-developed characters that you can’t help but root for, this book now has a solid favorites place on my bookshelf.
  5 stars

• The Shadow Queen by CJ Redwine – A Snow White retelling with all the greatest aspects of fantasy put in one book! While it had cliche elements, they were executed so nicely that this reader didn’t even care. AND I WANT MORE.
  4 stars

• Forbidden by Kimberley Little Griffith – While the romance in this book was heavy, I enjoyed it because of the lovable characters of Kadesh and Jayden. The Mesopotamian setting of Babylon also made it a delightful read.
  4 stars

• Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie – The main character Sonya could be a trifle annoying at times, but at least the plot was intricate and quick enough to keep me reading.
  3 stars

Swoon Thursday

• Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie – “You are not a curse.” His brows lifted in earnestness. “You are a gift,” he said softly. “You are my gift. A savior to me.””

• Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton – “His breath vibrated through me until I couldn’t feel anything anymore except want. More than want. Need.”

Discussion

• 5 Popular Descriptions in YA Literature – In which I regale the different types of character descriptions that are SO POPULAR in young adult books. It’s like people without those features don’t exist as main characters.

Other

• Indulgence Designs: Series Enders of Early 2016 – On Happy Indulgence I posted wallpaper for The Winner’s Kiss, The Mirror King, and The Raven King – all of which I am heavily anticipating for this year.

• Book Graphics Request – In which I ask you guys to send me some suggestions for my next graphic. The release date will be a surprise!

• Tsar’s Guard Parade: Top Destinations to Check Out in Russia – For my contribution to the parade celebrating The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye, I decided to post about the coolest places to see if you ever decide to stop by Russia.

• Your Guide To Being A Successful Pirate: The Girl From Everywhere Release Celebration – To celebrate the release of The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig, I wrote this list on how you can become a successful pirate from the best of your abilities.
• Asian YA Recommendations: Happy Chinese New Year! – To celebrate Chinese New Year, I listed a bunch of YA books that feature either Asian main characters or an Asian setting (mostly both) that you guys should totally check out.

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As you can see, this month was just GRAND in terms of books reviewed. I didn’t even realize I had so many 4-5 stars posted until I listed all of them! How are you guys doing for the past month?

Monthly Wrap-Up: Just a Jazzy January

Welcome to my first monthly wrap-up! Why not start with these as the new year sweeps by? January had its ups and downs, but the majority of the books I read were quite enjoyable. I also started cross-posting some reviews from Goodreads because I actually like some of the ramblings I post on there (lol).

As I said on Twitter, school basically lit a fire up my butt and is roasting me alive. I’m not even kidding. Each week I’m inundated with tests, and I have major projects (called Internal Assessments) that call for my attention. In class we don’t really do much, but then we get to tests and it’s like a bomb has been dropped. Thus, my peers and I have been teaching ourselves haha. My days are basically filled with school, extracurriculars, and books/blogging.

• Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan – This was a dark, twisty retelling of Rapunzel. The romance was absolutely delightful, although I didn’t really learn much about the world.
  4 stars
• Until We Meet Again by Renee Collins – Featuring a time-traveling romance, this one brought upon a bunch of feels. It also has a mystery to be solved and a bittersweet ending.
  3 stars
• Revenge and the Wild by Michelle Modesto – If you’re looking for a unique, western read, then definitely hit this one up. The western-magic fusion is just thrilling from beginning to end.
  4 stars
• The Rose Society by Marie Lu – A solid sequel for the Young Elites trilogy. Adelina is spiraling into the darkness and no one is there to stop her… or is there?
  4 stars
• The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry – Absolutely stunning debut that features a romance that spans time and space. Despite the beautiful writing, the ending left a bit to be desired.
  4 stars
• This Love by Nazarea Andrews – I was so pissed at this NA featuring not only a student/teacher relationship (I could work with that), but a love interest that was still married. The moment I read that, I was ready to get out ASAP.
  DNF
• Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire – This book was definitely a disaster, no doubt! The appalling writing and equally appalling romance makes me wonder why this is so popular.
  DNF
• Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover – One of the ugliest romances I’ve ever read. The review is filled with gifs of people making gagging faces, which was mine while reading this one.
  1 star
• The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson – If you haven’t picked up this trilogy, THEN THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOU. Just kidding; I’d highly recommend you to check it out for your next fantasy read. I think it’s ruined all other fantasies for me.
  5 fantastic stars for all three books

I also reviewed these books on Happy Indulgence:

• Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell – This dark twist of Peter Pan features a total swoon-inducing pirate love interest, but a weak-willed main character. It’s Neverland like you’ve never seen before!
  4 stars
• Starflight by Melissa Landers – A SCIENCE FICTION READ THAT IS FANTASMIC. The characters were charming, the plot extremely exhilarating, and the setting just takes you outta this world.
  5 stars
• These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas – Historical fiction that features a supernatural twist! The subtle romance and mystery plot makes it a fun read set in 18th century England.
  4 stars

 

Swoon Thursday

• Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan – “He made me feel extraordinary and beautiful.”
• The Shadow Queen by CJ Redwine – “Heat that had nothing to do with his dragon’s fire filled him, pressing against his chest like he’d swallowed the sun, and he couldn’t breathe without taking in her scent.”

Fanart Friday

• You Light Up My World + Art Process – I loved Starflight so much I drew the main couple and explained how I usually do my arts.

Discussion

• Chatterbox: Staying True To Your Heart… And Your Ratings – In which I discuss the different factors that could change your ratings.
• Sugar Daddies: The Truth Behind Your Immortal Book Boyfriends – A rant about love interests that are either centuries years old or immortal… definitely a trope I’m not a fan of.

Blog Tours

• Passenger by Alexandra Bracken – I take you on an actual tour of the destinations of the book!

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That’s it for this month! You guys holding up okay so far in 2016? I’m so prepared for all the awesome books coming out in February!

A Blogger’s Guide to Navigating Edelweiss

If you’ve been blogging for a couple of months, you probably know the existence of sites like Netgalley and Edelweiss that offer eARCs for review. Today I’m going to be taking a simple tour of Edelweiss and the basic need-to-know for navigating the site and getting what most of us bloggers want: eARCs!

Many people are usually confused on what’s going on in Edelweiss, and it’s because SO many things are happening! Booksellers use this site too, and I’m pretty sure I haven’t discovered even half its functions yet. It all adds up to spending a little time to discover the different aspects of the site.

This tutorial will be split into a couple of sections to make things easier.

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Finding Review Copies

After making an account, the home page should more or less be like

Like I said, lots of things are going on from the start. I never bother with catalogs and leave them to the people working in the bookselling industry. Instead, I automatically head over to the tab labeled “Review Copies.”

Here are the book that you can request from publishers! They give pretty much all the information you need for the book, and you can click on the title for the ones you’re interested in.

These books seem interesting, but I’m looking for the Young Adult section. After all, I mostly read and review Young Adult books. Simply filter your search under the “Refine By” tab. You can do it based on publisher, age, subject, and all that smooth jazz. Usually I go directly to the Young Adult category.

Oh yeah! That’s what I’m looking for.

Now that we’re here, we get to scroll through all the young adult books. To get more information on a title, you just have to click on the title. Don’t click on the picture, because it’ll just end up enlarging the cover. Which has happened to me one too many times.

So we’re on the book’s page! There’s a whole bunch of information here but I stick to the basics: summary under book details, author bio beneath that, and sometimes marketing campaigns listed to the side.

But we’re looking at the TOP RIGHT BUTTON. Yup, the one labeled “Request Digital RC.” Because if you haven’t figured it out, we will be pressing that for requests.

Say you aren’t interested in this book anymore though, so you go back a page to the search results and keep scrolling…

And scrolling…

And BAM there’s an eARC you really want!

There’s a familiar blue button to the upper right of the book info section that you can click to request it! No need to go through the hassle of clicking on the title and going to the info page. Maximum efficiency right here, folks.

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ARC Requests

Navigating is only half the battle, though. Like Netgalley, Edelweiss makes you write a description about your blog and all that fun stuff. If you have a Netgalley account and are pretty proud of how you write your bio, copy and paste should just do the job!

Anya from On Starships and Dragonwings has a pretty swell post on how to write your blog description, which I highly recommend you check out! When I first started blogging though, I never thought to use more resources. I pretty much wrote only two sentences, which consisted of:

“My name is Aila and I blog at https://onewayoranauthor.wordpress.com, where we review YA books. The site has 300 unique visitors per month and I review each ARC I receive to the best of my abilities.”

Surprisingly enough, I was still accepted by Harper Collins and a couple of other publishers! Since then, I’ve added a few sentences but I still keep it simple. (Especially since my blog stats are nothing to brag about.)

Don’t get discouraged if you get denied! Sometimes they’ll only put books on Edelweiss just for booksellers, and there are so many factors that publishers can take into consideration: previous reviews you’ve posted, how quick you requested the book, the current moon cycle, etc. (Not sure about the moon cycle one but who knows.)

For the additional message, I really don’t recommend the one I typed up in that screenshot. 😉 To maybe help your chances of getting accepted, you can talk about how much you want to read the book or if you’ve read other books in the series if it’s in one. Again, I’m not sure how these factors play into publishers accepting your request, but it’s always good to be safe than sorry.

Once you enter Submit, you pretty much hold your breath until you get accepted. Unless the publisher really likes you and auto-approves you- in that case, I am very jealous and in awe of your prowess.

The great thing about the description is that rather than copying/pasting it every time you request a book, Edelweiss saves it so you can use it again for the next book.

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After Getting Accepted

After that tumultuous journey, you may get an email in the near future saying you’ve been accepted or denied! (Hopefully the former) If denied, then you always resend your request… But I’d advise to use that option sparringly.

When I get a mass acceptance, I just go back to the Edelweiss home page and through the tabs Review Copies >> Requests to check out the books I’ve requested.

The color coding is pretty simple. Blue for unknown, green for YAY, red for NAY. From here you can click on the title and download to your heart’s content!

DRC files can be read with Adobe Digital Editions on PCs or Macs, and Bluefire Reader on smartphones. Additionally, Edelweiss can send it to your Kindle email, which you can read via Kindle app. A little side note that the address kindle@abovethetreeline.com must be added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List on Amazon to do so.

Finally, don’t forget to post a review of the book to send to the publisher after reading! You can also go on the Search button and find some old books to publish reviews on- who knows, maybe it’ll up the chance of you getting accepted!

Would also not advise writing the kind of review I did haha.

Once you’re done writing the review, or copy/pasta-ing it from your blog, hit “Submit to Publisher” and “Save” and be proud of yourself.

You have made it through the labyrinth of Edelweiss.

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This post was fairly, fairly simple and pretty much shows the minimum requirement you need to know about requesting eARCs on Edelweiss. The best way to learn, however, is to go to the site and spend 10-20 minutes clicking on things and seeing where they lead.

Like I said before, a lot of stuff I clicked on seem like filler content I would never use, so I just ignore those and skip to the steps above.

Thanks so much guys for sticking with me, and good luck requesting! ❤

SBPT #7 : Starting a Revolution

If you want more info on this awesome tour check it out here! Basically every Sunday for the summer I’ll be spotlighting a blogger because there are too many cool people out there that YOU need to know about.

This week is Amber and Jessica from The Book Bratz, or you may know them as the lovely ladies who hosted this blog tour! I asked them to do the Which YA Revolution Should You Join quiz on Epic Reads, and here are their results:

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Jessica got: Fighting for District 13 from The Hunger Games!

 

Amber got: Revolutionary Order of the Wicked!

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Some of the questions of the quiz include:

• Who would you want fighting alongside you in the revolution?
• Where’s your revolution headquarters?
• What’s your role in the revolution?
• Pick a Tom Cruise. (lol)
• What are you fighting for?
• What will you miss from your old life?

You should try the quiz too and share your results!

I got revolting against the queen in Red Queen!

Now about the hosts of this delightful tour:

Just two teenage girls who go by the names of Amber and Jessica. Our hobbies include reading books and fangirling about them on the Internet. 🙂

Check them out on their blog, Twitter, and Goodreads!

The Start of A YouTube Channel

This past year, as I’ve become more and more integrated into the book community, one thing continued to elude my mind: booktubing.

How do these amazing people have the time to talk, perform, and edit these videos? What is even a good number of views on Youtube? How many people, exactly, are even IN the book community?

Thus, I have decided to start a YouTube channel dedicated to, you guessed it, BOOKS. The first measly video I have shared is a book haul waiting from me after vacation… Yeah, lame, I know. HOWEVER, I have a bunch more awesome ideas planned that readers like you and I can relate to.

So if you check that out, you would make my day! Either way, I’m really happy to be stepping out of my comfort zone and filming/editing videos, and at the same time excited to make new friends.

Ciao!

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Do you watch BookTube videos? If so, who do you like? What kind of features do you enjoy the most when watching BookTube videos?

Lee Bross – Tangled Webs (Tangled Webs #1)

Tangled Webs
Author: Lee Bross
Series: Tangled Webs
Release Date: June 23, 2015
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Get it Here: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Synopsis:
London, 1725. Everybody has a secret. Lady A will keep yours—for a price. This sumptuous, scandalous YA novel is wickedly addictive.Lady A is the most notorious blackmailer in the city. With just a mask and a gown to disguise her, she sweeps into lavish balls and exclusive events collecting the most valuable currency in 1725 London—secrets.

But leading a double life isn’t easy. By day Lady A is just a sixteen-year-old girl named Arista who lives in fear of her abusive master, Bones, and passes herself off as a boy to move safely through the squalor of London’s slums. When Bones attempts to dispose of his pawn forever, Arista is rescued by the last person she expects: Jonathan Wild, the infamous Thief Taker General who moves seamlessly between the city’s criminal underworld and its most elite upper circles. Arista partners with Wild on her own terms in the hopes of saving enough money to buy passage out of London.

Everything changes when she meets Graeden Sinclair, the son of a wealthy merchant. Grae has traveled the world, has seen the exotic lands Arista has longed to escape to her whole life, and he loves Arista for who she is—not for what she can do for him. Being with Grae gives something Arista something precious that she swore off long ago: hope. He has promised to help Arista escape the life of crime that has claimed her since she was a child. But can you ever truly escape the past?

I honestly didn’t dislike the overall book, but there was a lot of elements in it that added up to an overall low rating. The biggest factor, I have to admit, is the characters. Unfortunately, I couldn’t connect to or sympathize with any of them. Not Arista, the main character, or her childhood friend/crush Nic, or her instalusty masked highwayman Grae, or the people who made the “tangled webs” in the story.

I WANTED to like Arista, but her character seemed so unrealistic. Throughout the book she’s conflicted about her feelings; having grown up on the seedier side of London, she’s always been used and she vacillates between “I want to be free!” and “I CAN’T be free, the only life I’ve known is this” in the book.

It scared her, this sudden burst of conscience. If she wasn’t Lady A, then who was she? Where did she really belong?

Alright, Arista’s character premise sounds legit, but she really, really wasn’t that strong of a character. Sure, she could do stuff with her knife (that the author never failed to point out was on her thigh – I get it after the fourth time, thanks). But sometimes she’d be badass with her knife and threatening people and the other times she freezes and hesitates and is caught up in a daydream or something. I find myself wondering how she was able to stay alive throughout her life, if she acts that inconsistent.

Don’t get me started on when she meets Grae, and sparks fly. The sparks flew so much that she got distracted in her spying game and seriously, I was like “Getcha head in the game!” while she was caught up in Grae’s stormy eyes.

“When he touched her bare shoulder, Arista forgot how to breathe. The warmth she remembered so well spiraled outward from his touch. When he curled his fingers around the back of her beck and inched her head closer, a frantic beat began in her chest.”

Grae himself seemed like a nice guy, but we see a very superficial side to him. You can definitely tell he cares for Arista, but his lack of character makes him seem quite shallow. Nic was the only character that seemed interesting in the book, and he hardly appears at all. The evil guys are as wooden as the main love interest and are your typical mustache-twirling blackmailers. If I had to draw a comparison, I’d say the characters are a bland meal without any spices or sauces to add depth and flavor to the eater, or this case, reader.

I think Bross does her best in making the historical setting seem real, but it kind of fell flat. There are cameos of real life people (dead, of course), but it’s just a brief mentioning that has nothing to do with the story. In fact, the historical background is just that – a background. The story doesn’t have elements of the time period to add to the plot, it just stands there like a cardboard stage. I’m sure most people would think that’s good enough, but I guess I was expecting something a little… more.

Overall, the ending was quite satisfying. There are still enough loose ends to make another book, but there wasn’t a cliffhanger to make me want to grab the sequel. I kind of liked it actually. I’d recommend this to people who don’t really read historical fiction – this is a pretty light and short read to get introduced to the genre. But to someone who’s been there, done that, then this probably isn’t something you’d enjoy.

Hello, I’m Not Dead!

Alrighty gentle readers, I must first apologize for my lack of presence on the ethernet. The only reason I can offer is a severe case of laziness so, I’m sorry. Anyways, with summer in full swing I do plan on reviewing a good number of books before school kills my motivation again. I have 10 books I’ve recently read and am ready to review (in no particular order) :

1. Ash by Malinda Lo
2. Messenger of Fear by Michael Grant
3. Endgame by James Frey
4. I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
5. Keeping You a Secret by Julie Ann Peters
6. Another Day by David Levithan
7. Rage by Julie Ann Peters
8. The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
9. The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman
10. Ask the Passengers by A. S. King

Some of these are in various stages of written and some I haven’t even started on yet but I will get to them all. If any of these are particularly interesting to you, comment and let me know and I’ll work on that first

-Angela

Life Updates: A Pause on Books Because I’m Traveling

Greetings, readers from across the world!

Well, at least I’m across the world. From our ever glorious United States to the tropical South Asian countries: Vietnam, Cambodia, and Maldives. Currently I’m in Vietnam and every day is a busy day.

Honestly, you never realize how much time you have in a day until you go traveling. We’ve seen SEVERAL different sites in a day… it’s pretty crazy.

With that in mind, it’s been too busy to really read for me. Bummer, because I really need to read something for the book tour I signed up for half a month ago. But I’m dedicated! It shall be done, and the book shall be reviewed by the deadline. Anyhow, I’m saving up on something, so I haven’t been ordering ebooks to read either. Thus, my reading list has been paused for the time being, other than my school-assigned books.

This is a sad update for the book part of me, but the traveling part of me is having the time of my life!

These were all taken in Hanoi, Vietnam.

I know, not exciting book news but this is just a reminder that I’m not dead! Just taking a break from reading as much as I would if not traveling.

(And I will still be reading other book blog’s posts of course.)

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer, whether bookish or not!

Emery Lord – The Start of Me and You

The Start of Me and You
Author: Emery Lord
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Release Date: March 31, 2015
Get it here: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Synopsis:
Following her pitch-perfect debut Open Road Summer, Emery Lord pens another gorgeous story of best friends, new love, & second chances.

Brimming with heartfelt relationships and authentic high-school dynamicsThe Start of Me and You proves that it’s never too late for second chances.

It’s been a year since it happened—when Paige Hancock’s first boyfriend died in an accident. After shutting out the world for two years, Paige is finally ready for a second chance at high school . . . and she has a plan. First: Get her old crush, Ryan Chase, to date her—the perfect way to convince everyone she’s back to normal. Next: Join a club—simple, it’s high school after all. But when Ryan’s sweet, nerdy cousin, Max, moves to town and recruits Paige for the Quiz Bowl team (of all things!) her perfect plan is thrown for a serious loop. Will Paige be able to face her fears and finally open herself up to the life she was meant to live?

You want to know why I don’t like contemporary Young Adult books?

Because of books like this.

(I don’t mean that in a negative connotation, it was just an opening statement that I thought would get attention – which I have, if you’re still reading – HA.)

See, I like fantasy and science fiction because we’re traversing through places unknown to my otherwise mundane and normal life. When I read contemporary, I try to pick one that I think would have a lesson to be learned or something that would make me jealous of someone else’s NOT mundane life. Do I get that in The Start of Me and You?

And I honestly thought we had something going, too, considering the premise was pretty interesting. This girl Paige has to go past the death of her boyfriend to live out her life. But in the end of the book, you know what thoughts I had? None.

Total apathy.

And I’m 104% that’s just me. I mean, lots of people fell in love with these characters but I just can’t.

I’ll admit, the way Lord dealt with the situation is very realistic. Despite dating for only 2 months, Paige gets the pity look from everyone because of her dead boyfriend and that starts building a wall from a lot of people. I enjoyed the way Paige goes through the aftermath of his death and exploring her feelings.

“I mourned for his life, but I also mourned, selfishly, for myself. The first boy to really notice me drowned in a freak accident, and I would never know the whole of him. The idea of us still hung in the air, but we’d never be more than a few golden memories and a bundle of what-ifs. How do you find closure in that – especially when strangers treat you like a widow to a devoted husband?

Moving on to Paige’s friends, which consist of a group of girls that expands to the guys that hold Paige’s interest. Who were the group of girls? Tessa, the popular friend MC’s all have, and two other girls that kind of disappeared in the end. I think one’s name was Kayleigh and the other… ?????

Anyway, those additional cardboard cutouts are replaced by the hot Ryan Chase and dorky Max Watson. Who is Ryan? Another piece of recyclable material that is supposedly some popular guy who I did not know or care about.
Max, on the other hand, is explored way more and I really like this boy. He’s a total dork (HE LIKES FIREFLY) and really helps Paige come out of her shell. I like their interactions the best.

“But Max? Max I could tell anything to. It made a difference, telling my secrets to someone who remembered ever word.”

So you know how above, it seems like more than half of the characters are background pixels? Well, it made the touching moments less touching. I like these kind of scenes,

“The four of us didn’t necessarily have a lot in common, but they made me feel like one of them… When I joined QuizBowl, I hadn’t expected to like it so much.”

but as heartwarming as they are, it feels so much less because I know like two things about these people. There it is, that apathy that’s radiating out of me.

Maybe this would have helped if I liked the main character better. Paige was okay, a typical teenager aka exasperating and dynamic, but just plain boring to me. (Not to mention it took her more than half the book to realize who she really liked, but shhh young adult probs.) When there’s another character death in the book, I didn’t care. I didn’t connect to anything she did.

See, contemporary doesn’t work for me when I don’t feel that connection. If there’s no chemistry between the characters (and ME!), then it’s a no-go for me. In fantasy books I can make do with the world or magic shenola or politics going on, but now I’m just reading about some girl suffering some second-hand PTSD (is that a thing?) because of a dead boyfriend and tryna chase the wrong guy, which is essentially a waste of time.

Don’t get me wrong though, it wasn’t a waste of time because it was still enjoyable while reading (kind of) and taught some lessons that won’t stick with me. But dang, was that a boring book.

Susan Ee – End of Days (Penryn & the End of Days #3)

End of Days
Author: Susan Ee
Series: Penryn & the End of Days
Publisher: Skyscape
Release Date: May 12, 2015
Get it here: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Synopsis:
End of Days is the explosive conclusion to Susan Ee’s bestselling Penryn & the End of Days trilogy.

After a daring escape from the angels, Penryn and Raffe are on the run. They’re both desperate to find a doctor who can reverse the twisted changes inflicted by the angels on Raffe and Penryn’s sister. As they set off in search of answers, a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all.

When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. As unlikely alliances form and strategies shift, who will emerge victorious? Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?

A very satisfying conclusion to an awesome trilogy! Although I could have seen a little more in the epilogue, I am very content to end the series as it is. Susan Ee does it again, and I can’t wait to see news of more books from her!

What I Liked:

– Like the other books, Ee does not hesitate to paint a gruesome image of the world.
The angels are scary as heck. The scorpion creatures are scary as heck. Humans are scary as heck.

– The events that unfold are spectacular.
Ee certainly doesn’t write things in small measures! Whether it’s an angel attack or going back in time to do, ah, certain spoilery things, every part of the plot kept me riveted. My eyes were glued to the page!

“In the distance, the Watchers weave a beautiful dance in the dawn sky beneath Beliel’s shower of fire.”

– I absolutely adore the characters, from the cranky Beliel to Penryn’s psychopathic mother. 
Each and every one of them are dear to my heart. They are realistic (to a point; if the events in the book can be claled “real”) and are so humane. Even the angels can garner such empathy from me. Humans, demons, angels; each have their good and bad points – Ee writes it to show that they can be so different but also so similar.

“Okay, maybe we’re not the most civilized beings in the universe. but then, who is?”

– Romance fans will be satisfied with the ship.
Come on, if you’re reading this review, you KNOW what ship I’m talking about. (*cough* Rafe x Penryn *cough*) Yes, they are one of my ultimate book OTPs at this point. 😀

What I Didn’t Like:

– Looking back, nothing. 
Although I would have liked to have seen a bit more going on in the epilogue, the resolution will satisfy Penryn fans across the globe.

Recommended for:
People who have read the first two books, duh. If you’re a dystopian fan, then definitely pick this one up! I’m not sure why you haven’t, because this is the dystopian to read.