Lady Danielle

“Everyone loves a witch hunt as long as it's someone else's witch being hunted.” 
― Walter Kirn



The title isn’t about the hangman’s daughter at all. Yes, she was in it helping her father solve the mystery of the murders of three children; however, it wasn’t focused on her, there were multiple point of views and at first it will become annoying, but you’ll get used to it. The title doesn’t give this book justice. It should have been titled something else; nevertheless, I enjoyed reading this very much. If you’re looking for something on the witch trials or something similar to The Crucible by Arthur Miller then The Hangman's Daughter is just for you. It does tend to get a bit slow, but it will immediately pick up and drag you back into the small Bavarian melancholy town in Germany during the 1600s.

Picture yourself finally going home from a very a long day of helping a woman give birth. After being up for nearly two days straight (remember, this is the 1600s, the procedures of childbirth takes a hell of a lot more time then our nowadays procedure that’s ten times easier and less tiring). You finally enter your home, grab a drink, and just sit at your table to relax and congratulate yourself on the job-well-done. Suddenly, you hear angry; loud voices approaching your small home. You hear, ‘burn the witch!’ and, curious, you peek your head out the window to see what all the commotion is about only to be greeted by a stone colliding with your forehead. Shocked, you try to escape but half the town has you surrounded and are blaming you for a murder you did commit. How do you tell an angry town you didn't commit no such crime? The answer: nothing. Confess that you did do it.

This is what happens to Martha Stechlin, the midwife. When a little orphan boy's body is pulled from a river bearing a strange mark of witchcraft on his shoulder, Martha is accused of this and the murder of several other children. It was easy to place the blame on her head due to the fact she concocts potions to cure illness and the like such as rashes, bad coughs, etc.



The hangman, Jakob Kuisl finds it hard to believe she did the crimes so he puts it in his best interest to help Martha and find the real murder with the help of his daughter, Magdalena, and the town's physician, Simon. The Hangman's Daughter was extremely detailed and vivid. Martha is put under torture so she can confess to the murders. For example, they used thumbscrews



I have no idea what I'd do if had I been Martha. It's actually quite funny, the town would kill anyone they suspect of witchcraft (children included) but when someone else murders they make a big deal about it. The hypocrisy. Pötzsch has done an excellent job of crafting a world based on tragic times and superstition. Each and everyone one the characters had their own personality and I found it to be a breath of fresh air. I grew tired of reading young adult novels where every character had no personality or was the same, so kudos to Pötzsch. I recommend The Hangman's Daughter to anyone who is in need of a good historical thriller.

How am I supposed to start this?
I just want to point out something that annoyed me before I gush and fangirl and talk about the deliciousness of this summer love novel. 

I get that we all get my mad. We all get angry with ourselves at one point for doing something we didn't expect we'd do. We disappoint people and you can't help but hate yourself... a lot. This is how Clementine feels, the girl with amazing friends and a best friend that just completes her -- that is, until Ethan comes along. She did something that caused her friendship and she beats herself up about it. 

But I hate how she has an excuse for the things she says or does when she lashes out on her family. I have problems when people are mad and others try so hard to make them feel better and the person who's hurt starts yelling at the other person for no reason then tells them some petty excuse. Clementine does this a lot and all the time she makes some excuse I think, 'You should not have done what you did when you knew it was wrong. Stop making excuses for yourself. Take responsibility.' Yes, sometimes we just can't help it and control ourselves, we're all imperfect humans so it happens, which is the reason why I wasn't going to put the book down.

Okay, now that my point has been crossed... OHMYGOD THIS BOOK WAS SO ADORABLY CUTE. It gave me this feeling like I got from reading Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. I love the sea, I love romance, and I love boats, so after reading the description I just had to get my hands on this. It has what we need, including humour. I hate that it ended! WHY DID THIS BOOK HAVE TO BE 231 PAGES, WALKER!? I will never forgive you for that.

I really hate saying 'Clem' because it makes me think about a part from our body *cringes*, so I have to write 'Clementine'. After the terrible-awful thing Clementine has done, she sets sail with her little sister, Olive; as well as her mother and father. If Clementine still had her friends, she would have done anything to stay at home and spend her summer with them, but she is forced to aboard The Possibility because she has nothing else to do and wants to 'find' herself. On her journey, she meets James, a boy who sailing the same route as she is. He's always smiling, always energetic and Clementine's depression is lifted a little bit. Little does she know, James has a story that needs to be told, too. 

It's so hard for me to write this review without spoiling anything. Just read it, please.Unbreak my heart is the story of true friendship and love. 

Playlist:
Clementine - Eliott Smith
Whoever She Is - The Maine
Into Your Arms - The Maine

I cannot tell y'all how many times I checked The False Prince out from my library only to have return it. (view spoiler) I don't know why I decided to check it out the other day when I knew I wasn't going to read it. Plot twist: I READ IT! And, my god, it was awesome. I opened The False Prince expecting to merely skim it but found myself awake in the middle of the night reading it. It was so hard for me to put it down... until I was finished. 

The False Prince gives us a promising story. Sage is completely awesome -- I loved his quick retorts, his braveness, and his honour (view spoiler). Sage is a 14 (15?) year old orphan pickpocket from Avenian but travelled to Carthya to live. Upon doing what he usually did (steal food, money, etc.), a nobleman from court, Conner, finds him and takes him (along with three other boys). His reason? To fool an entire kingdom that he has the king's long-lost son. The boys are taken to Conner's palace to be trained as a prince would. The boys have no choice but to stay unless, that is, they want to be killed.

Each of the boys has their own personality that I admired and I really like that (usually most YA novels I read the characters have the same boring personality). There's Roden: strong and boastful, he's doesn't know how to read, but he sure does know how to use a sword. Tobias: curious and smart. He's the only boy of the four who can read. Though he can read any book you give him, he certainly can't use any sword you hand him. Latamar: quiet and feeble. We don't learn much about him (view spoiler). Then there's Sage: defiant and cunning. He knows how to read a little; as well as know how to use a sword. He's a quick theif and knows how to slip in and out of the palace without anyone knowing he left. Each of the boys possess a quality the prince had, but only one can fool the entire kingdom.

The False Prince is a new novel with many twists and turns. It's wonderfully written and unique; I'm glad I decided to read this book. It's not like other YA literature we all get tired of reading (stupid whiny teenage girl meets badass new boy with creepy powers and falls in love). Though I had my share of foreshadowing (and ended up being right), I was still blown away by the story. I know you will enjoy this book; if not.... I'm going to keep my comments to myself. :)

EDIT NOVEMBER 23RD, 2012 Oh ho ho, I see what the publishers did there -- publishing The False Prince on April Fools when the story is about fooling an entire kingdom. Classic.

The ghosts that send chills down our backs aren’t ghosts visiting us in spirit form, speaking to us and making its appearance when it has unfinished business, no. The ghosts that send chills down our backs and make our heart race impossibly fast are stories. Stories so vivid it haunts you and makes you afraid to walk about the house at night. Stories that will make it seem as though there’s someone present sitting next to you, listening as the story is being told. Stories that will linger in your mind for a couple of hours and make you dream about it. Those, my friends, are the true ghosts. 

“There is something about words. In expert hands, manipulated deftly, they take you prisoner. Wind themselves around your limbs like spider silk, and when you are so enthralled you cannot move, they pierce your skin, enter your blood, numb your thoughts. Inside you they work their magic.”

Where the story’s protagonist, Margaret Lea, could easily relate to the readers, Vida Winter holds a certain regal air. I’ve never came across a character such as herself. So blunt, so true, so…. poignant. Vida Winter is a woman of many words; a woman who has the tongue of a liar storyteller. She’s told 19 different stories of her life to journalists in two years (from what Margaret’s read; for all we know she could’ve told more).

“My gripe is not with lovers of the truth but with truth herself. What sucor, what consolation is there in truth, compared to a story? What good is truth, at midnight, in the dark, when the wind is roaring like a bear in the chimney? When the lightning strikes shadows on the bedroom wall and the rain taps at the window with its long fingernails? No. When fear and cold make a statue of you in your bed, don’t expect hard-boned and fleshless truth to come running to your aid. What you need are the plump comforts of a story. The soothing, rocking safety of a lie.” 

“Politeness. Now there’s a poor man’s virtue if ever there was one. What’s so admirable about inoffensiveness, I should like to know. After all, it’s easily achieved. One needs no particular talent to be polite. On the contrary, being nice is what’s left when you’ve failed at everything else. People with ambition don’t give a damn what other people think about them.” 

This book is exactly what I’ve been craving to read. It seems as though I’ve grown tired of reading some fast-paced plot and genre in YA literature. The Thirteenth Taleimmediately swept me off my feet and took me to an entirely new world. This book is for patient readers. Diane Setterfield doesn’t hold back on being immensely descriptive. She takes her time crafting a chilling gothic novel with a 19th century feel located between two hills. Setterfield masters in writing a novel that will steal your breath away; a novel that will leave you staying awake in the dead of night, slowly turning the pages to read what happens next. This is a book to savour and take your time with.

I loved how there wasn’t any romance in the novel. The protagonist is an independent book lover who doesn’t get out much. She was practically born and raised in her father’s bookshop where she learned to read and write. She stays in the bookshop writing biographies of long dead authors. She’s neither into contemporary novels nor authors, but she receives a letter from Vida Winter, asking Margaret to write her biography. And this time, Winter will tell the truth. 

The Thirteenth Tale is a tale that will linger for quite some time with its quotable passages and spooky atmosphere. Diane Setterfield will tell many tales of a sadistic child, queer twins, a friendly giant, a cunning governess, and many other mysteries. Grab some cakes and tea/coffee and start gobbling this delicious novel. I am definitely looking forward to her new novel, Bellman and Black.

Cover and synopsis fraud strikes ... yet again.

Not only do I feel annoyed, frustrated, and angry, I feel CHEATED. Cheated andtricked. I've read so many lovely reviews talking about how amazing All Our Yesterdays was. The total mind fuckery they've experienced whilst reading this; yet, queerly, the mind fuckery I've experienced wasn't in a positive way. There's no polite way to say this, but... I hated this book. And now I'm going to ask, again, what story has everyone else read? What did they love that I didn't? Why does it feel like I've read something else entirely? What am I not getting?

Over-hyping a book is somewhat precarious — if disappointed, the reader may end up hating the book more than they should because they not only expected something so much more, but they had high hopes. Yes, I'm talking about myself and maybe for other people. Of course, there's some good stuff in All Our Yesterdays -- okay I'm lying, I'm lying to myself to make myself see sense. I can't bring myself to give this two stars because I'll be lying to myself. The concept of this book is the only thing that's great. Usually I'll say to a book I've finished that I didn't like much, "it's not you, it's me", but this time, book, "it's not me, it's YOU".

Leading back to the statement "there's nothing good about this book": I did enjoy the first few chapters of Em narrating. It was very promising. However, once I'm introduced to Marina, All Our Yesterdays goes downhill rapidly. So much angst, so many things were very offending, so many times the book was trailing off the plot into an entirely new territory that I found vexatious. 

A drain and a girl... prisoner, more like.

There's something strange about this particular drain in Em's cell that she wants to uncover, she knows this drain has some hidden secrets inside. When she gets the drain open, there's a paper with a list of attempts tried and failed. Strike outs, notes-to-self, sentences she can't read since the writing has faded. Apart from that, one sentence sends chills down her spine:
You have to kill him.

When I read the synopsis, All Our Yesterdays became exceedingly predictable. I knew who "him" and "the doctor" was and I knew how the story was going to end. The minute the characters were introduced, I knew. Obvious, much? I predicated more things, but I'm not going to say because I'd spoil the story. The characters were not only flat and underdeveloped, but they were annoying. Especially Em and Marina (view spoiler), my god, I couldn't stop rolling my eyes. Incessantly I kept putting All Our Yesterdays down, not wanting to go on. I don't know why I finished.

I wasn't really feeling the whole "time travelling" thing, either. And I'm really interested in this scientific theory. This was just... bad. I will not be picking up the next book.

You don't need to read book one in order to read this review. It's spoiler-free! (I love when this happens) 

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An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a burn for a burn 

view spoiler.

This book is dirty, dirty dirty dirty. It's not like Burn for Burn, an "OMG, Kriss, why did you tell her my secret! I'm getting you back for this". It's like, "Really, Kriss? You slept with my boyfriend when you already have one? But that's OK, because on that Christmas Eve party you threw last year, I slept with yours.... in your parents' bedroom". Then a fist is thrown, hair is being pulled, and retribution will be paid.That's how dirty Fire with Fire was.

This book starts off pretty good, I was reading it for hours on the beach*, occasionally giving a wanderlust gaze towards the ocean. I have a really really horrible tan. That’s OK, though because it’s worth it. I had a problem with the middle of Fire with Fire due to the fact it wasn’t really focusing on revenge. It made the synopsis seem extremelymisleading. I mean, It was a decent read, but I was expecting some good ol’ delicious revenge. However, the last 40 pages makes up for it…. Like a lot. I read the last chapter about 20 times before coming to the realisation that the book is over. My mouth was hung open and I zombie walked to my sister and set the book down. I really need an ARC for the final instalment... like now.

The middle of Fire with Fire focuses more on colleges, who-did-what in book one, and do-you-like-me-or-him/her. This genre isn't my thing. I hate books like this, but I hold this one close to my heart. This book has a shitload of teenage drama, so, if you find it annoying... maybe this isn't going to be for you. Then again, like I stated above, I hate stuff like this, but I found this thoroughly entertaining. it's like a mixture of Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars -- throw in a paranormal twist and you've got yourself a bookseller. 

The character development is simply marvellous (I really love Kat). Usually sequels aren't as good as the first, but this one blows Burn for Burn into the ocean. I bet Burn for Burn is sitting at the bottom of the ocean right now drinking its brain off and sobbing. God, I don't know what to say. Pick this up as soon as possible? Grab some snacks with this? 

*Here are some photos of my beach reading. So relaxing and enjoyable, I never wanted to leave but I had school (view spoiler).



I wish I were a mermaid



more images can be found on my instagram at: @ohhellodanielle

Now I know why people would either love it or hate it.

I think saying Samantha Shannon is the next J.K. Rowling makes me question the credibility of the publishers. You can't just say an author is the next J.K. Rowling because the book is fantasy with "magic". Why did they really label Miss Shannon as the next J.K. Rowling? Because she's making The Bone Season into 7 books? Because she wrote a book that would take us on an unforgettable journey like the HP series? Or maybe to sell the shit out of this book?

Whether or not you have an answer, I am still left disappointed. 

I understand why people would love this:

- The many different clairvoyance described in this book.
- It kind of has some originality going on here.
- Made up terms.
- Whenever action took place, it's wholly entertaining. Miss Shannon can write some seriously great action scenes.
- The protagonist's attitude. She's sort of badass, but more strong-willed (in a really good way). 
- Decent writing.
- The hype. Admit it, you can't help but fall into the hype and go a little crazy, as well.

Then again, I understand why people would hate this:

- The made up terms (it can be frustrating and confusing most of the time. They have a glossary at the back of the book, but many will see this as problem and will be annoyed at constantly having to go back and forth. Or if someone's using a kindle or have an ebook it could be a problem).
- The Bone Season really is overly descriptive. I feel Miss Shannon tried a bit too hard with trying to make her story breathtaking and unforgettable. The writing dragged on, becoming hard to continue reading on. If she toned down with being descriptive on everything, I might have enjoyed this more and wouldn't be bored.
- Though I stated it's somewhat original, The Bone Season does have its inspiration from some books; one of them being Divergent, IMO.
- This book was a roller coaster. One minute I was really enjoying it; the next I found myself trying to stay awake.
- THE. HYPE. Yes, my friends, the hype for this book is insane.

So, I can't recommend this because I don't know what you'd want or what you expect to get from this. Maybe you'll fall head-over-heels in love with The Bone Season, maybe not. Usually, I am quick to recommend/not recommend a book, but for this one? I honestly don't know.

I might be picking up the second book, I'm in no rush. I'm questioning whether this should be made into seven books. 

If you were enslaved and was given the choice to fight for freedom and become the King's Champion, would you take the offer? Celaena Sardothien, the land's notorious and feared assassin, accepts this offer, but for a price: she must compete with twenty-three thieves, assassins, and warriors for the title. If she wins, she will be the king’s Champion for four years and her freedom will be granted. However, this isn’t the only challenge strong-willed Celaena with encounter. In a land where magic is banned and a tyrannical king rules other lands, sinister murders are occurring in the throne of glass – something evil has arrived. Celaena will not only fight for her freedom, she will experience sentiments for Chaol, the Captain of the Guard, Dorian, the Crown Prince, and gain a friend.

For months I’ve passed up this book. Months I’ve considered reading it but ended up turning away. I’m kicking myself for not reading Throne of Glass sooner. Celaena puts the ‘bad’ in badass – I enjoyed this assassin. I loved the writing, I loved the witty conversations between her, Chaol, and Dorian, I loved the action, and I loved reading about the beautifully described dresses and balls. I applaud the fact that Celaena isn't afraid to look pretty and get her hands dirty at the same time. She acknowledges the fact that she's a woman. Usually, we come across a badass protagonist who's boyish and hates wearing a dress, but Celaena has the time to stop in front of a mirror from time to time to drool over how pretty and elaborately made a dress is. She isn't scared to let her hair down. Not once has she ever annoyed me, not. Once. Hands down, Celaena Sardothien is my favourite character in YA literature.

Many will have a problem with this, um, "love triangle" in Throne of Glass, but, my goodness, did I enjoy it. 

view spoiler In general, I abhor love triangles... but I can let this one slide... for now. Throne of Glass is just fun, fun, fun!

I'm making this book seem as though it's full of romance, it's not. Though Celaena is an assassin, assassination isn't actually taken place, but occasionally Celaena is thinking of ways to kill certain characters. Let me warn you all now that Throne of Glass isn't about assassination; rather, it's about strategy and tests. After all, Celaena does have to compete with twenty-three other people to become the king's Champion. Let me also warn you that this book will have some gore. My stomach clenched from the details that were described in the murders. So keep this in mind if you can't stomach what I stated. 

The reason why I'm not giving this a higher rating because a certain plot was added to this story I felt wasn't needed

view spoiler I think Sarah Maas didn't have to add that part in the story; I think she could have still done an amazing job with the original plot. But there're going to be 6 books, so hopefully it'll be explained throughout this intriguing story line I'm having high hopes for. Also, I also have problems with alternating POVs. Only because it's usually never needed or it wasn't well mapped out/connected with story. However, these occasional POVs were satisfactory -- it had meaning and they're extremely important to the story (view spoiler). 

I get why everyone loves Chaol more than Dorian. Chaol is skilled like an assassin, honorable, a hardworker, dedicated to his job and isn't easily fooled. I liked Chaol, but I see him more of a best friend-type. Dorian, however, makes me giddy. I love Dorian. He's a kind prince. Though he's been trained to use a sword, he would result to a debate. He's a reader not a fighter. Celaena is a likeable character; she isn't like most of the protagonists in YA literature. She's sophisticated, she loves books, she's funny and she's just everything you didn't expect a YA MC to be.

Well, I recommend Throne of Glass to everyone in need of a good traditional fantasy. 

(Random thought: I might give this a four star tomorrow or later on in the future. Whenever I have the book in my hands I have nothing but positive and fond thoughts.)

A lot of readers are saying to read the novellas, maybe I'll give them a shot. I really hate reading ebooks, though....

I love the little family I have - quite content with them. I remember when my mom, little sister, one of my older brothers (a year older than me) and I went through one of the toughest time in our lives. I remember the four of us were staying in a small room; everything felt gloomy. Then my aunt and her husband, my other aunt and her two kids, and my three older brothers came to visit us. The room was crowded, but the atmosphere felt calm, happy even.

I remember the smell of tacos and sour cream floating around the room; and the sound of laughter and voices as we reminisced about the past and blabbered absolute nonsense about random things. I looked around the room, taking in the sight of taco wrappers, napkins, and drinks left on the table; the smiles on my family's face.... I'd do anything to keep them safe. I'd honestly would give my life just save them. Or fight just to stay alive so I can still be with them.

The same cannot be said for Nikki Beckett. 

Nikki Beckett disappeared months ago. No goodbyes, no letters, nothing. She went to the Everneath also known as the underworld. A place between earth and hell. A place where a person can live forever - immortality. A place where one can never feel hurt or pain... even happiness. But now she's back to the Surface, but she only has six months to live it. Six months to makes things right and give her proper goodbyes then it's back to the underworld forever. You would think Nikki'd Surface again for the father and ten-year-old brother she left. But no. She's back for Jack (view spoiler).

What Nikki Beckett was doing throughout Everneath was beyond selfish and totally messed up. She doesn't apologise profusely to her father and little brother as she does to Jack. She doesn't spend time with her father and little brother as she does with Jack. Hell, she barely mentions her father and brother in Everneath; the only time she did was because Jack wasn't around. I hated her. I hated how she would fight to stay in the Surface for Jack but would quickly give up and leave her life when it came to her father and brother. Never mind the fact that her father and brother went through tough times without her around. It's all about Jack, it's always been about Jack. And she even says this to the manipulative, creepy douchebag Cole, the Everliving who took her to the underworld. 

Not only that, but for three entire months she's been hurting Jack, claiming she didn't remember him when she did. The bitch couldn't have - at least - went straight to him and told him everything. Nope, she'd rather waste the time she has to make things right only to make things all wrong. She never stopped to think about the pain Jack would be going through. Did I also mention her best friend, Jules? We read almost nothing about her. Nikki doesn't makes things with right with her as I would have hoped. It's all. About. Jack. I don't know whether I pity Nikki, or just feel contemptuous toward her.... Maybe both. I think my face is permanently stuck all contorted because throughout the book my face was like this while reading



But aside from the selfish scum bag Nikki Beckett, things were a bit too predictable(view spoiler); some of you know how much I hate when I can predict what's supposed to have been the show stopper. It makes the story all the more uninteresting as well as less dramatic. 

You know how I sad in my review of this from last year that the storyline kept jumping all over the place 80% of the time? Welp, I was wrong. The plot was never jumping around -- whoopty-effing-do, one thing I was wrong about! Everneath had the potential of being an amazing paranormal romance about mythology and true love if Nikki would have appreciated her father, little brother, and Jules. If she would have cared about the value of family and friendship. I'm not going to even bother with the sequel, Everbound even though that cover is to die for (stares at it longingly).Everneath's cover is simply gorgeous, too. The saying 'never judge a book by its cover' is too damn true it scares me.

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My review from last year when it was a DNF:

I enter Everneath with high expectations. I was absolutely excited to read this. Unfortunately, I was left, after reading 173 pages, being disappointed. Everneathwasn't what I expected. When I see the tags under Greek Mythology, I think Loki, Zues, Nike, etc., but all I received was a remake of the Persephone story. Now they did talk about some Greek myths, but it wasn't what I wanted. This book wasn't based on Greek mythology. This book had so much potential, it started off great; Everneath sounds like a badass place. 

Nikki is unbelievably selfish, and was a complete angst who couldn't make up her mind. One minute she only came for Jack, the guy who broke her heart -- never mind that she had a little brother and father who went through hell; to thinking maybe she should go back to Everneath with Cole so she wouldn't hurt anybody. I honestly hate feeling that the protagonists is a replica of Bella from Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, but sadly I have to place Nikki into the category. Jack was a boring character despite the fact he was labelled as 'the hot jock everyone loves', Nikki's best friend was annoying and Cole was just a creepy; manipulative immortal. I had zero feelings for the characters. 

A lot of things in Everneath was left unexplained, it kept jumping off point 80 per cent of the time, the romance was just sad, and this book just held a vague plot. I'm sorry I don't have strong feelings for this like most of you, but I hope to never read this again.

I'm writing this review on my android, please excuse any grammatical errors and the like.

Such a rollercoaster. One minute I wanted throw this book, give it one star, and talk about how much of an idiot Parker and Kat were; the next I was deep into the story, not wanting to put this down. I understand the hype of this book. I understand the glowing praises. I first entered Golden thinking I was going to hate it. I was hating it, to be honest. That is, Until Parker found the journal of long dead Jilianna Farnetti. A journal that'll shape Parker Frost's life and choices. 

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

When coming upon this question, Parker Frost doesn't truly have an idea. She only has the idea of what her mother wants for her: go to Stanford, get good grades, become a doctor... and Parker always wants to please her mother, never wanting to disappoint or embarrass her. Never having the chance of experiencing the teenage life. Never able to make her own choices or decisions. But it all changes when she tackles on a project given to her by her teacher. Every senior is to answer the question I stated above in a journal. They're supposed to write everything they're feeling, everything they've experienced, everything they plan to do in the future. At the end of the year, the teacher collects them and stores it in his storage for ten years then ships the journals back to the owners.

While sending the journals out, Parker comes across Jilianna's journal — the girl who's been missing for a decade and the most talked about person of the small town. This is the start of Parker having to make her own choices: either she turn it in, or keep it to read what Jilianna's story really was and how she came to her death besides relying on the rumours. She keeps it. Jilianna's story was gripping and had me tearing up a little; I feel this was the highest part of the story (also the last twenty-six pages).

The reason I'm not giving Golden a higher rating is Parker, Kat, and Trevor (or Travis, I forgot his name already oops). The writing was incredible, easy, and very light, but the three character I stated above really grind my gears. I hated how Parker handled her supposed crush for Trevor (or Travis), she was being really immature and stupid about the situation. Kat is your typical YA clichéd bad influential best friend whose idea of getting the guy you like is showing off your tits and be incredibly easy. Trevor (or Travis, damn you!) was a straight up idiot (view spoiler). 

But aside from that, the story had me reflecting on my life. I recently graduated from high school (class of 2013, aye!) and I DO have a plan for my life, but when I look back in my high school years I wish I could've spent my years on making mistakes and learning from them. I wish I wouldn't have been so anti-social. Oh well, life goes on.... Coincidentally, my English teacher gave us an assignment before senior year was finally over: we were to write a letter to ourselves (didn't matter how long), put it in an envelope with a forever stamp and hand it in; five years later he'll send it out to us. I love projects such as these.

Anyway, this was an enjoyable coming of age novel and I do recommend it. I hope this will leave you thinking and reflecting as it did for me and I hope this story will inspire you to make your own choices and live in the moment. As Mae West said, "You only have one life to live, but if you live it right, once is enough."

• Seize the day.

1.5 stars 

I'm absolutely disappointed with In the After. This was not what I expected at all. What started off fast-paced, and nail-bitingly awesome ended up being a complete bore.

How did the story go from this




a girl watching television on a normal day; suddenly the broadcast is interrupted with the President talking about an attack -- showing the people a small footage of an alien. The girl is home alone when this happens. Her mother was off working for the government and her father shopping. The lines are dead, leaving her with no way of contacting her friends or mom. Thus, the survival begins as people are being killed, going into hiding, and doing God knows what else. Fortunately for the girl, her father was an eco-friendly geek who installed solar-panels (hello, lights!) and her mother a cautious woman who installed an electric fence around the house (hello, protection against the aliens!)

to this



Honestly. I know Amy and Baby were supposed to go to a compound, but I did not expect the author to just give me a new story entirely. No really, it felt like I was reading some dystopian novel I've read multiple times: children being divided into Classes depending on their age, wearing the same jumpsuits, weird technology, etc. I think Lunetta just occasionally threw in the term "They" or "Them" to remind us that we're reading a story on alien invasion. Sorry, Lunetta, but you didn't fool me. The premise of the story fell flat on its face.

The beginning of the story (pages 1 - 135) I give it 4 stars because it was very promising, but from pages 136 - 455 it's a 1.5 out of 5 stars. If I wanted to read something such as the given pages, maybe it would have been a 3. But, unfortunately, I was in no mood for dystopia... or whatever the hell I received. Also, what was the point of those flashbacks starting from part 2 of the story till the end? Lunetta gave us three stories... in ONE! 

The first 135 pages will leave you thinking and prepare you for any possible alien invasion (if you believe that such exist or would happen). What would you do if you found out your town was invaded by aliens? How would you react? These creatures were not original, but still terrifying. They move faster than pretty much anything, they don't kill the victims first before they devour them... they eat while they're still alive -- basking in their victims screams. They only come out in the sun since they can't really see in the dark, which is a plus, but they can hear a noise from miles away. You have to be quiet as well as stealthy to go scavenging for food.

I wish Lunetta kept to the premise, this would have been one hell of a story. It has a lot of potential... which is why I'm going to read the sequel, but I'm in no rush.

"I'm the shadow lurking around the corner. I'm the youkai demon dragging them screaming into the night." 



This was exactly what I needed -- a YA novel set in Shizuoka, Japan. Now I was a little miffed that the protagonist was American (and a whiny one at that), but I'll let it slide.

Amanda Sun took excellent notes and did excellent research on Japan because, honestly, I felt as though I were there with Katie Greene experiencing the kendo lessons; eating the mouth watering foreign foods; blushing over the awkward, yet romantic moments; the horror of the ink drawings coming to life and many more.


I wish the boy was coppered hair and the girl blonde -- they'd represent Tomo and Katie perfectly.

After Katie Greene's mother died, she travelled across the world to Japan. She expected to be the awkward gaijin learning Japanese; however, she didn't expect to come across a sketch that would look at her, turning her life completely upside-down and entering a world of the old ancient mythology on the Kami... 

I looked down at the paper, still touching the tip of my shoe. I reached for it, flipping over to look.
A girl lay back on a bench, roughly sketched in scrawls of ink.
And the the sketched girl turned her head,
and her inky eyes glared right into mine. 

Let me tell you guys now:
THIS IS NOT AN INSTA-NOVEL.

To me, I understood why Katie was a little stalkerish toward Tomo -- whenever he's around strange things happen... strange things. Like whenever she doodles in her notebook her drawing starts to move and tries to attack her, and what do you know, Tomo's there. Not to mention he gives her a funny look when it happens. It's what any normal curious person would do if they were in Katie's shoes, it's what I would do.

Don't worry about not understanding some of the Japanese written in this book, there's a glossary in the back (I think this is the book's greatest flaw due to the fact that the glossary takes place next to the ending page of Ink. Che ! Had the glossary been in the front of the book it would be perfect.) I adore that this makes me want to take Asian Studies in college. I'm always up for trying new things.

The sketches in this book were gorgeous, too


Here's a little tease.

And don't get me started on the FOOD
Just to name a few: Tonkatsu curry, manju, karaage, onigiri, and dango.











I'm so excited for the next book, Rain.

さよなら。

Conceivably, I was prepared to hate this book (I mean, I sharpened my knives and gathered my pitchforks, people!). I even grabbed a notebook and a pencil. I was thatprepared. The book started off with a kick (usually all books do), but it continued to wow me and I found it hard to let this book go. I stayed up till four in the morning to finish the very last page. This goes to show I can't let the negative ratings control my decisions. Sure, this had some fatal flaws, but at the end of the day everything has a hamartia. 

Waking up in a hospital with tubes in you with no memory as to how you got there and finding out you're the only person who knows what happened to your friends is hard. But having hallucinations and seeing your dead friends is harder. This is what Mara Dyer has to deal with. On top of that, she moved away from everything and everyone she's ever known to an entirely new state, town, and school. Let's add that on her 'my life sucks' list.

[...] I tuned him out while shovelling some basmati rice onto my plate. I'd already taken a bite when I noticed something fall through the prongs of my fork. Something small. Something pale.
Something moving.
White maggots writhed on the porcelain, half drowned in curry. I covered my mouth.
"You okay?" Daniel asked, then ate a forkful of rice.
I looked at him wide-eyed with my mouth still full, and then back down at my food. No maggots. Just rice. 

The writing in The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer was hauntingly amazing and vivid. This is one of those books-that-linger kind of books, and talk about that ending ! My heart is still racing. I am definitely picking up the next book to see what happens. A lot of people saw Noah as the jerk, the douchebag and then some. I didn't see him as any of those. On the contrary, I thought he was pretty awesome. Let me also add this was not an insta-love story, thank God.

About those flaws... here's why I'm not giving this 5 stars:
*After meeting Noah, Mara did stray away of finding out what happened the night her friends died and how she woke up in the hospital with only minor bruises.
*Jamie - the Black. Jewish. Bisexual. 
*The clichéd bad boy meets new girl story (we've read it all before in Twilight, Obsidian, etc.). 
*Though I loved the romance, I hate that it kind of took over the whole premise of the book.

In the end, I still place this book in my favourites shelf. This was a breathtaking debut. It'll mind-boggle you, scare you, and sweep you off your feet. The story begins with Mara, Rachel, and Claire playing with a Ouija Board....

"Ask it how you're going to die, Rachel."
"How am I going to die?"
We looked at each other as the piece moved under our hands. It semi-circled the board, sailing past A through K, and crept past L.
It settled on M.
"Murder?" Claire's voice was soaked with excitement.
The piece glided in the wrong direction. Away from U and R.
Landing on A.
The piece zigzagged across the board...
R.
We remained silent. Our eyes didn't leave the board as the piece jerked back to the beginning.
To A.
Then stopped.
We waited for the piece to point out the next letter, but it remained still. After three minutes, Rachel and Claire withdrew their hands. I felt them watching me.
Six months later, they were both dead. 

I'm sorry to say that this may or may not be a spoiler free review if you haven't read the first book. So proceed reading with caution... or don't read at all (unless, of course, you've read Shadow and Bone).

So... Siege and Storm... me and you didn't along like I hoped we would. You were being very.... difficult. This is the sequel to Shadow and Bone. I can understand why people would say Siege and Storm throttles the first: a sea dragon, flying ships, epic battles against the Darkling and volcras, pirates, a torn country holding on to hope in desperation, and many, many folklore that clings to its readers and sucks them in to a wonderful world full of magic, myth, and romance.

But, alas...

I didn't feel that spark I had when reading Shadow and Bone. I was extremely underwhelmed with this Mal and Alina romance (I didn't have feelings for Mal much in the first book, but after reading this I really don't like him). It was too much drama between these two and not enough Darkling. But my new baby, Sturmhond, was filling that huge hole in my heart for the Darkling.

I loved Alina Starkov in Shadow and Bone, she was a kick ass female heroine, but after reading this book I was just like



You'd think now that her power enhances in this book she'd mature even more and just slay the shit out of Siege and Storm, but nooo. She became whiny, immature, and extremely aggravating to the point where I wanted to pull every last strand from my head. Siege and Storm was still an entertaining read that could be told around a bonfire as I stated in my review for Shadow and Bone, but the drama that took up 20 - 30% of this story made me drop two stars. I'm praying to the saints Ruin and Rising will wipe this book of its evil; dull ways and bring me the Darkling and more Sturmhond.