Mini - Reviews (Stars Above, The Secret Garden & Unequal Affection)

This week I have a handful of Mini- Reviews for you! These are reviews for books that I don't have a lot to talk about. Actually these were all pretty good books, but some books don't generate a lot of controversy or a strong reaction. Check out these great reads!

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer - 4/5

My Thoughts: This was a nice collection of stories about the characters from The Lunar Chronicles outside the main storyline. Some of the stories fill in the blanks from the series while others are completely separate. Personally, my favorite story was the Epilogue which reunited our band of heroes for a special event. Overall this was a fun read and I enjoyed most of the stories. This book is not essential to The Lunar Chronicles plot, but if you are a fan of the series, I recommend checking it out!



The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - 4/5
My Thoughts: When I was a kid I remember watching a movie version of The Secret Garden (maybe with Maggie Smith in it?) and falling in love with the story. I was craving this story recently and am so glad I had it on hand to pick up. This short straight-forward story is a delight even as an adult about friendship and determination. Some one the descriptions are lengthy about trivial things but overall it is a lovely story. 

Unequal Affection by Lara S. Ormiston - 4/5

My Thoughts: At first I wasn't sold on this one. The disastrous first proposal scenes is what I always considered to be the spark for Darcy's self assessment and improvement. Instead in this book, Lizzy doesn't berate Mr. Darcy's behavior but instead considers his offer rationally. It is an interesting take on the story and ended up being a good reimagining of events. I liked the scenes at Longbourn and seeing Darcy and Lizzy navigate their engagement. I did like that the two of them spared and misunderstood one another quite a few times. It was a fun read for sure with great writing and pacing!

Happy Reading!

Review - Winter by Marissa Meyer

Series: The Lunar Chronicles #4 (Final) 

Genre: Sci-Fi Fairytale Retelling

Source: Purchased

Published - November 2015

Hardcover - 824 pgs

Add it // Buy it 

Rating - 4/5  

Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.

Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhood friend—the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’t as weak as Levana believes her to be and she’s been undermining her stepmother’s wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters?

Quick Thoughts: Overall the ending to this series was very good and I was pleased with the wrap up to the story. A lot of questions were answered and the action sequences in this book were awesome. However, I did have a few questions left over at the end and didn’t love it quite as much as everyone else.

Full Review: Alright. This book took me almost a month to rate or even review. I had many mixed feelings about this book after finishing it and I still feel like I’m sorting through them.  I wanted to love the wrap up to this series after seeing so many glowing reviews online, but I got stuck. There were a lot of things I liked. For instance, the action and adventure in this series has always sucked me in. I feel like I can really visualize what is going on and Meyer has always given me a complete picture of this futuristic world. I ship all the ship especially the friendships and felt very satisfied with the conclusion of this story. However, I did have a few problems.

The fairytale interpretations throughout this series have been innovative and this installment is spot on as well. I love the elements of the Snow White fairytale we saw and the futuristic twist to the classic story too. However, there were a few points where scenes felt forced into the story to accommodate more parts of the fairytale. In some ways this story has become completely independent of the original stories so I found it a bit disruptive to be reminded this was a retelling. However, I felt very similarly at the end of Cinder and upon reread found it worked better for me. 

My other issue with this book was the main couple. I had a really hard time with Jacin and Winter at first. There was so much character development and progress in Cress. I was already in the middle of so many stories and character arcs I had a hard time starting two new ones. Eventually I did like both of them and found their stories interesting. Plus Winter and Scarlet's friendship was a really interesting dynamic. I love Scarlet so as she and Winter spent more time together, I warmed up to Winter.

Like I mentioned though, the wrap up was well done. I liked the ending and how fast-paced and thrilling the conclusion was. There is a lot of drama and excitement in this wrap up. It is a long book so be prepared for emotional upheaval and lots of action. I was pleased about a lot of the decisions Meyer made for her characters and how the story panned out. I was satisfied with the conclusion of the story. 

Happy Birthday!

February Wrap Up

This month I raced through books. I read at a speed I don't think I've read at before. It was fast and furious. I read fourteen books this month and loved a lot of them. Check out my video wrap up to see exactly what I was working on this month.

Review – Cinder by Marissa Meyer

   

Genre: Futuristic Fairytale Retelling

Hardcover – 390 pgs

Published: 2012 by Macmillan

Add it // Buy it

Rating: 4/5

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

This morning I'm sitting here thinking about Cinder wondering what I could possibly say about this book that another review hasn't. Everyone loves this book. There are so many reviews and posts about this series that gush about the amazing Lunar Chronicles Series. I don't disagree with those people that this series looks like its going to be amazing and I really enjoyed the book. However, like so many books, the hype is so extremely positive and its hard for a book to live up to it. I really enjoyed this book, but not quite as much as the hype made me think I would.

Before I make it seem like I didn't enjoy this, let's jump into all the things I did love about this book. Cinder is an independent and really self-reliant character who has no problem speaking her mind or working for what she wants. I absolutely loved her. She won me over really quickly with her stubbornness and determination to get things done herself. It was also really nice for me to swoon over a love interest more than a main character. Prince Kai was a really fun character and I loved their quick witty banter throughout the book.

Meyer created a complex world around her main character. The writing is simple, but really effective at introducing the reader to the world and characters. I loved her futuristic spin for Earth and the Lunars are really interesting. I am curious to see more of the history of this high-tech world and the Lunars. The human/cyborg/android dynamic is really interesting and consistent throughout the book. Because the next two books are already out, I caught glimpses of things I'm sure are going to be important later on. Overall Meyer has a very engaging writing style and I am hooked on this series.

Because this is a fairytale retelling, it is predictable which bothered me a lot more while I was reading than it does now. Meyers built such a good foundation for her series with this book. I was thoroughly impressed with the elements of Cinderella that she used and how she shaped them within her own story. Even if you didn't know that fairytale, this story can stand by itself.

I can't pin point one thing that disappointed me about this book. I just didn't love it wholeheartedly. By the end of the novel, I was completely absorbed by Cinder and the story but the first half didn't capture me as much. I'm excited for the sequel and have heard things only get better from here so I'll pick up Scarlet soon to see how it goes for me.

So overall I don't have much to add to this discussion. I really enjoyed this story and would encourage people who have trouble at the beginning to keep going and give the story a chance to ramp up. Cinder's adventure is amazing and I'm invested so now I can't wait to see what happens in the next installment!

Happy Reading!