Reader Rayna

Month: December 2014

  • Fangirl Book Review

    fangirl

    Title: Fangirl
    Author: Rainbow Rowell
    Publisher: St. Martin’s Press – an imprint of MacMillan
    Publication Date: September 10, 2013
    Genre: Young Adult – Contemporary, Romance
    Pages: 445
    Format: Purchased Hardcover

    “Fangirl” by Rainbow Rowell is a story about a girl named Cath who loves Simon Snow – a fictional character in a bestselling book series in the book (wasn’t that confusing?). She writes fanfiction about Simon and his nemesis, Baz, in their world and setting, and by doing this she has thousands of views on the website she posts them on. When she and her twin sister, Wren, go off to college, things couldn’t be more difficult for Cath. She’s much more recluse than her sister and prefers spending time on the Internet than with real people. And then her new roommate, Reagan, has this guy over all the time: Levi. He smiles way too much and is way too nice, and Cath doesn’t really know why he’s over so much. And then she and her sister grow distant… Her first year of college is a mess before it turns around one day.

    Now, with all of that being said, I really wanted to read a lighthearted book, and I believe I found that in “Fangirl.” Rowell’s writing style has been difficult for me to transition into because she has a unique style, but as soon as I was comfortable, I flew through the story. It only took about two days’ time to read the book – which I’m very proud of myself for.

    As the book progressed, I found that it was very much like a typical lifestyle of a college freshman: people partying, exploring new places, hook ups, drama, classes, worry, stress. It’s a big ball of mush and I could really connect with how real a lot of the views and opinions expressed by various characters were. Some of the views I obviously didn’t agree with because of my own experiences when I was in college, but I know that a lot of people have similar views, especially when it comes to fraternities and sororities. But that being said, I’m glad the sole focus wasn’t on the school aspect – not completely – and I’m glad that it focused more on Cath’s writing and online world at times.

    It also focused a lot on family and issues such as divorce, alcohol addiction, mental illness, and togetherness. It wasn’t just a romance or a school story; it was a family story and about how the members of the family dealt with the situations at hand.

    But that’s not to say that I didn’t love the romance in it. The love interest and romance of the story was too adorable. I love how it progressed over time, and that there was even plausible drama in it. It wasn’t fast, wasn’t sudden, and that’s what I like about Rowell’s writing, but I still wish there was more.

    I liked the installations of Cath’s fiction writing throughout and how they actually played their parts as a precursor to the chapter ahead. I thought it was clever and it was also fun to read a story within a story (storyception!).

    Overall, this book was highly enjoyable, fun, engaging, but also serious at times. It didn’t make me bored or keep me guessing.

    I rate this book 5/5 stars and highly recommend it if you’re looking for something lighthearted.

  • Exquisite Captive Book Review

    exquisitecaptiveTitle: Exquisite Captive
    Author: Heather Demetrios
    Series: Book #1 in the Dark Caravan Cycle
    Publisher: Balzer + Bray – an imprint of HarperCollins
    Publication Date: October 7, 2014
    Genres: Young Adult – Urban Fantasy, Romance
    Pages: 480
    Format: Purchased Hardcover

    “Exquisite Captive” by Heather Demetrios tells the story about a jinni (essentially a genie in our terms) girl named Nalia who has been enslaved and sold on the dark caravan. She endures torture in several forms from her master, Malek, until one day when he suddenly starts being nice to her. Strange things begin to happen after that, especially when a revolutionary boy from her world of Arjinna, Raif, comes into the picture. Chaos, freedom fighting, death, and love and hate ensues thereafter and Nalia’s world is turned upside down.

    This book was a fun read. It was definitely different in terms of the content presented because I have never read or heard of a book about genies in YA fiction. So when I heard about it watching a video one day before it was released, I had to get it.

    There are five different castes that exist in the world of Arjinna:

    1. The Ghan Aisouri – they rule over the other castes and are made entirely of females. They have purple eyes and purple smoke. They are also the only jinni who can control all the elements of earth, air, fire, and water.
    2. The Shaitan – they are second to the Ghan Aisouri and have golden eyes and smoke. They control they element of air.
    3. The Djan – they are the largest caste and are made of serfs (peasants). They have emerald eyes and smoke and they control the element of earth.
    4. The Marid – they have blue eyes and smoke and they can control the element of water. They are also on the same level as the Djan in the caste system.
    5. The Ifrit – they have crimson eyes and smoke and control the element of fire. They are hated throughout Arjinna and are known for using dark magic.

    I found that having different caste systems really brought in an element of reality to an otherwise imaginary place. Though the majority of the story takes place in Los Angeles, California, there are flashbacks that Nalia has of Arjinna, and there are also some various spots around the world as small segments in various chapters that follow one of the main villains.

    The story was intriguing, but I oftentimes felt that there were some things that didn’t need to be mentioned or the way some pieces were laced together didn’t fit, but it was overall a good story and I am anticipating the release of the second novel in the trilogy next year.

    Let me talk a little bit about some of the things that I took notes on from the book:

    • The epilogue didn’t need to be in there. I felt the way the book ended was good enough and that the epilogue could have been thrown into the first chapter of the second book. I wished it had ended where the story itself ended, but I can also understand why it was thrown in there – it just didn’t need to be in there.
    • There were a few small inconsistencies throughout the book that maybe some people may or may not have picked up on. They’re very minuscule in terms of the plot and how the story flowed, so they didn’t hinder much of what happened.
    • I often thought Nalia figured things out too easily and too fast throughout the book. I wished there had been more elements of surprise in terms of her reactions.
    • I was also slightly confused on the relationship aspect of how fast it moved and how they got from point A to point B. I don’t want to say who as it could be potentially spoilery, so if you want to know what I’m talking about, watch my video review.

    Those were some of the major points in the book that I was really cognizant about. Other than that, I enjoyed getting to learn about the history of the jinni, of the different castes and how each has their own element, eye color, and evanescence smoke color, as well as just the story itself. I’m hoping that the story broadens out over the next couple of books and that the second book won’t be just a “filler” like many second books in trilogies are and it’ll be even better than the first.

    Overall, this book was a good first book, with plenty of action, steamy scenes, and plots that make you want to know what’s going to happen next.

    I give “Exquisite Captive” a rating of 4/5 stars.

    Accompanying video: Exquisite Captive Book Review

    **As always I do a more in depth talk with more spoilers in my video discussions, so if you’re looking for a more in depth talk, please view the video!

    What did you think of the book? Let me know in the comments below!

  • All the Tags!

    Because I failed to put these in my posts for my wrap-ups, here’s a collective tag post for the tags I did! These include tags from August to now, but won’t be including a few to come later in the month.

    Would You Rather? BookTube Edition

    Would you rather…

    1. Read only trilogies or stand alones? Stand alones because then I’d be able to read more books and not have to wait for the next book to come out in a trilogy.
    2. Read only female or male authors? I seem to lead toward a lot of female authors – not purposefully, but that just seems to be the majority of the books I own.
    3. Shop at Barnes & Noble or Amazon? B&N because I enjoy walking in bookstores and looking around and taking my time. Picking up physical books and getting to really look at them is something you can’t get on Amazon.
    4. All books become movies or t.v. shows? TV shows. Movies are too short and can’t get the full grasp and detail like a TV show can.
    5. Read 5 pages per day or 5 books per week? 5 books per week, duh.
    6. Be a professional reviewer or author? Author. It’s something I’m working on now.
    7. Only read your top 20 favorite books over and over or always read new ones that you haven’t read before? Read new ones I haven’t before. The old ones would get boring after time, even if they are my favorites.
    8. Be a librarian or book seller? Librarian. It sounds a lot more interesting and a lot less stressful than being a bookseller.
    9. Only read your favorite genre, or every genre except your favorite? Every genre except my favorite because I’ll be able to find romance anywhere!
    10. Only read physical books or eBooks? Physical books because they’re better. Not that I don’t like e-books, I just like to hold books instead of a device.

    Ice Cream Book Tag

    1- Peanut Butter: a very long book series that you really want to read, but probably won’t and why; Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead and Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz. I’ve outgrown vampires and all that, so I don’t know that I’d want to read them, but I might give them a chance… I don’t know.
    2- Chocolate: a book you would read over and over and over and over again; Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas. It gets better and better with each book.
    3- Pistachio: a book with a green cover; A Storm of Swords by George RR Martin
    4- Strawberry: a book with the cutest romance; Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. The dynamic between the two grows over time and it’s a great romance because of it.
    5- Lemon: a book with a sour ending; Allegiant by Veronica Roth. Need I say more?
    6- Mint: a children’s book that you like; Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
    7- Vanilla: your favorite classic; Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. It’s the only classic I’ve read that I’ve enjoyed thus far, so..yeah.
    8- Whipped Cream: a very long book that you read really really fast. The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith. I read all four of the books before doing a project, so.. yup.

    Bookish Scenarios Book Tag

    1. You have to get rid of all your books and you can only keep one from each of these genres – contemporary, fantasy, non-fiction and one other genre of your choosing. What books do you keep? Contemporary: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell; Fantasy: Sabriel by Garth Nix; Non-fiction: The Bible; genre of my choosing: Classic: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

    2. You’re at the bookstore and you hear a teenager telling their mom they don’t like to read, but their mom insists they pick something. You walk over and recommend a book you think is great for people who aren’t big on reading – what book is it? I’d have to learn what kinds of interest the kid has before recommending something, and then go from there.

    3. You’re not feeling yourself and need a pick me up. Which book do you read to put yourself in a great mood? Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas made me pretty happy. I vote that.

    4. You go back in time for a day to your teenage years. What book would you most likely have caught yourself reading? Lots and lots of manga.

    5. Your friend surprises you with a 4 day trip and you have 1 hour to pack. Which book do you bring to read on the way? Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. It’s a long book and it sounds fantastic, so it would definitely keep me preoccupied.

    6. Your house has been robbed! Don’t worry – everyone is safe, but your bookshelf has been raided. What’s the book you really hope is safe? All of them. My books are precious to me, so… all of them.

    7. Your friend borrows a book and returns it in awful condition. Do you a) Just pretend you haven’t noticed b) Ask them to repurchase it or c) Secretly do the same to something of theirs? Pretend I haven’t noticed would be my choice out of these options, but in reality I’d be yelling at them and be very angry.

    Reader Problems Tag

    1. You have 20,000 books on your TBR. How in the world do you decide what to read next?  I pick them up and put them down? I just choose which book I’m in the mood for and go with that.
    2. You’re halfway through a book and you’re just not loving it. Do you quit or are you committed? I’m usually committed, but I can put a book down if it’s boring me to death.
    3. The end of the year is coming and you’re so close, but so far away on your Goodreads reading challenge. Do you try to catch up and how? Currently I am at 14/20 books read for my challenge, and even though I know I won’t be able to catch up, I’m still proud of what I got. So no, I’m not going to catch up. I’m just going to enjoy reading for the sake of reading.
    4. The covers of a series you love do. not. match. How do you cope? It doesn’t really matter unless the new designs are hella-ugly.
    5. Every one and their mother loves a book you really don’t like. Who do you bond with over shared feelings? Find someone who shares the mutual feelings? Or go search the internet for like minded individuals and ask to spew my thoughts onto them and theirs onto me.
    6. You’re reading a book and you are about to start crying in public. How do you deal? Just go with it. If a book moves me that much, I’m not going to stop myself.
    7. A sequel of a book you loved just came out, but you’ve forgotten a lot from the prior novel. Will you re-read the book? Skip the sequel? Try to find a synopsis on Goodreads? Cry in frustration?!?!?!? Probably just start reading the sequel and hope my memory remembers some things, otherwise I’ll reread.
    8. You do not want anyone. ANYONE. borrowing your books. How do you politely tell people nope when they ask? Come up with any excuse or berate them with questions on how well they’ll keep my books since I’ve had books returned to me in the past in less than nice conditions.
    9. Reading ADD. You’ve picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over your reading slump? I either write or draw because usually it’s a sign that my creative juices aren’t pumping the way they’re supposed to.
    10. There are so many new books coming out that you’re dying to read! How many do you actually buy? Depends on if it’s a series or not and if I know I’ll actually be reading it next.
    11. After you’ve bought the new books you can’t wait to get to, how long do they sit on your shelf before you get to them? A while… I have a lot to read on my shelf now thanks to BookTube.

    So those are the tags I’ve done over the past several months. If you have a BookTube channel, feel free to do these tags, but if not, let me know some of your answers in the comments below. I’d love to hear them!

    Accompanying videos: Would You Rather BookTube Edition // Ice Cream Book Tag // Bookish Scenarios Tag // Reader Problems Tag