Reader Rayna

Month: January 2015

  • Genre: Fantasy

    I love fantasy. I always have, really. Being able to read about another world with people who go through similar or more difficult trials than we do in real life is always fun, and reading about the creatures that are often placed into fantasy books always draws me in, as well.

    Fantasy isn’t just constricted to high fantasy though, a term that means that it’s set in a whole other universe that there are few similarities to our world, and can include magic, mythical beings, sorcery, etc.

    There is also low fantasy, which includes a tale written in our own world, but includes some form of magic or some other telling aspect that makes it fantasy.

    There are more sub-genres of fantasy, but let me focus on those two for now.

    High fantasy is my preferred story to read. Not only do I get to read about the characters in that setting, I get to imagine that world that the author created and built from the ground up in their minds. It’s incredible to think about. Imagine having to come up with your own system of magic, landscape, society, culture, etc. It’s mind blowing and it makes me feel kind of giddy inside.

    Some books that I would recommend that involve high fantasy are:

    • The “Throne of Glass” series by Sarah J Maas. This is a six book YA fantasy series in which the first three books are out. It involves a kickass female assassin named Celaena Sardothian, an evil king, the king’s son, a royal guard, and lot of forbidden elements that fit into this world of no magic. “What? No magic?” It was banished by the king and as you read you find out why it was banished and how. It’s my favorite series to date, so why would I mention it?
    • “The Ice Dragon” & “A Song of Ice and Fire” series by George R.R. Martin. As very popular books, it only fits to mention this series and a companion novel. Set in a world of royals, peasants, kings, and lots of blood and sex, this series is definitely high fantasy. Not only does it include swords, political intrigue, lots of fighting, etc, it includes creatures that are only seen in nightmares, and dragons. Can’t forget the dragons. It’s a very long series, but it’s engaging. I haven’t finished it yet as I’m still working on the first book. I have read and done a review on “The Ice Dragon.”
    • “The Lord of the Rings” series by J.R.R. Tolkien. As a modern classic this trilogy is an epic fantasy adventure with hobbits, wizards, elves, dwarves, ogres, men, etc. Though I haven’t read the books in their entirety yet, I do plan to this year. I have seen the movies, though, so yay for references!

    There are plenty more series I could list, but those give just an example of what high fantasy can be considered as.

    Now for low fantasy, I personally think more of these exist than high fantasy, especially in YA. There are plenty of adult high fantasy novels, but there are also low fantasy ones. A few examples are:

    • “The Iron Fey” series by Julie Kagawa. Though the setting mostly takes place in faerie, parts of the story take place in the real world, especially when it gets to the second and third book. It’s a story about faeries, a girl who discovers the truth about herself, love, danger, and more.
    • The “Firelight” trilogy by Sophie Jordan. This is a trilogy about dragons and love and the dangers of being a dragon in our world. With the magical aspect of dragons that can change into humans, but are being hunted by humans, it makes for a great low fantasy trilogy to read.
    • The “Vampire Academy” series by Richelle Mead. This series is about vampires (duh) that live in our world, but their society is set apart from ours. There are different classifications of vampires and humans and it includes romance, action, and danger. I haven’t finished this whole series, but I figured I’d still list it.

    So those are a few examples of low fantasy books, but there are obviously many more books that include many different situations and everything other than what I’ve listed above.

    Now I didn’t include sci-fi in this list because I believe that it deserves its own post, which will be coming soon!

    I also didn’t include graphic novels or manga in these lists because there are so many different kinds that I wouldn’t know where to begin… Well, except with some of my favorites, but that’s for another post.

    Fantasy is one of those genres that I believe will always flourish because there seems to be a need to escape the real world and reach out to ones that don’t (or might) exist.

    What are some of your favorite fantasy books? Do you prefer high fantasy or low fantasy? Series, standalones, trilogies? Let me know in the comments!

  • Cinder Book Review

    cinder

    Title: Cinder
    Author: Marissa Meyer
    Series: Book #1 in the Lunar Chronicles
    Publisher: Feiwel & Friends – an imprint of MacMillan
    Publication Date: January 1, 2012
    Genres: Young Adult – Science Fiction, Romance, Dystopian
    Pages: 390
    Format: Purchased Paperback

    “Cinder” by Marissa Meyer is a fairy tale retelling of the Grimm’s classic tale of “Cinderella“. But instead of the Cinderella we’ve come to know, Cinder is, in fact, a cyborg living in a more futuristic world after World War IV. She is not only a cyborg (which not many people know about), but she’s also a mechanic – and a pretty good one, too. When Prince Kai comes to her one day with one of his broken androids, fate twists these two together in a way that no one would see coming. It’s a tale about self-discovery, loss, a fleeting romance, and more.

    Overall, I loved the concept of the book. I thought it was definitely unique in the way that Meyer told this version of Cinderella. Yes, there is the wicked stepmother and the two stepsisters, but one of the stepsisters actually likes Cinder (gasp!), which is actually a nice little reprieve from the story we all know. Cyborgs, futuristic, a need to save the human race from a deadly disease… it’s a bit of a great way to retell the story, right?

    Cinder, herself, was a likeable character. I felt that I, personally, didn’t attach to her as much as I wanted, but rather I attached to how she acted as a cyborg, how each function worked and how it could overtake her at any moment. I also liked how she was always cautious and aware of what she viewed as her “deformity” by always making sure her gloves covered any metal parts, as well as how she was sometimes missing a foot around the prince. Oops. I did think she was a pretty cool character other than my lack of attachment to her. Not only did Meyer beat a stereotype in making Cinder a mechanic, but she was also a cyborg, making her even more badass (in my opinion, anyway).

    Prince Kaito (Kai) was definitely a teenage ruler about to come into power. He knew what his father wanted for him, and respected it greatly, but he also knew what he wanted and upheld those decisions, too. Though we often saw him troubled one way or another throughout a majority of the book, I did think that he was definitely well thought out and I hope to see him in the future novels.

    Queen Levana, our main villain, is a Lunar – a person from the moon with “magical” abilities – who is pretty evil down to her core. She hates mirrors, for they show the true beauty of what she is, and she hates “shells,” which are Lunars who have no magic and are able to see past any glamour she might conjure up to try to brainwash any citizens. She definitely makes for a good evil villain and she kind of reminds me of the Evil Queen from Snow White.

    A few lesser characters included Iko, the little android servant to Cinder’s stepmother, Adri, but also Cinder’s companion. She has a sassy and fun personality and I loved reading the parts she was in. I wanted to just scoop her up and hug her all day.

    Adri, the stepmother, definitely held her role throughout the book and I really just hated her. Good minor villain.

    Pearl, the older stepsister, hated Cinder and treated her like crap. I didn’t like her much, but again, good minor villain.

    Peony, the younger stepsister, was cheerful and adorable and I liked that she was nice to Cinder. Not so much a villain, but rather a sidekick, I think.

    Now one of the plots of the story included a disease that is spreading rapidly around the Eastern Commonwealth, and around the world, called letumosis. Its symptoms do not appear, at first, but once a victim has gone into stage two is when the black and blue blotches start showing up all over the skin and they have to be taken to quarantine. There is no cure and so all of those who get sick with it, die. It’s really sad when one of the characters does die from it because I liked her, but I also liked that she couldn’t be saved in time, making it seem more believable that it could happen.

    The other plots included Cinder fixing Kai’s android, Nainsi, for him and discovering a chip inside her that linked to someone on Luna. I have my theory that it might be Cress. Maybe (don’t tell me if you already know).

    The ball was fun to read about, imagining Cinder dressed up all haphazardly and all that. I thought the events leading up to it were a bit slow and that the plot could have moved a little faster or maybe more added in, I’m not sure. I did enjoy the little hints that resembled Cinderella: the stepmother & stepsisters, the orange car (the pumpkin carriage), the cyborg foot (the shoe), and more.

    Overall, I thought this was a cute read and I hear that the sequels get better. This book was a little slow going for me, but I’m glad I still read it.

    I rate this book 4/5 stars.

    Accompanying video: Cinder Book Review

  • Most Anticipated 2015 Reads

    So many great books seem to be coming out this year and I can’t wait to read them all, though it may take me a while to get to them. Here is a list in no particular order of my most anticipated reads of 2015:

    • “The Red Queen” by Victoria Aveyard. This sounds like an intriguing read with politics and power. In a world set where those with Silver blood rule over those with Red blood, a girl, Mare Barrow, discovers that she has a strong power of her own though she is a Red. It sounds fun and engaging and interesting, so I can’t wait to read it! It comes out February 10, 2015.
    • “Magonia” by Maria Dahvana Headley. This sounds like a great fantasy debut novel that I’ll definitely want to get my hands on this year! It’s about a girl, Aza, who lives in our world and has an extremely hard time breathing and just living. Doctors give her medications, and hope for the best, but they don’t seem to be working. One day, Aza sees a floating ship in the sky and leaves this world for that one – Magonia. War seems to be catching up to both Magonia and Earth, though, and even though Aza is no longer the same person she was on Earth, can she save it and the boy she loves? DUN DUN DUN! I’d like to know. This book comes out April 28, 2015.
    • “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J Maas. This is a new fantasy series that Maas is coming out with about a girl, Feyre, who kills a wolf in the woods and someone comes seeking retribution. Though she knows she’s supposed to hate him and Faerie, she can’t help the passion that grows inside of her. A dark shadow is threatening the faerie lands and Feyre wants to stop it before it can hurt Tamlin, too. I love Maas’ writing and I can’t wait to see what her new series will be like! This comes out May 5, 2015.
    • The fourth book in the “Throne of Glass” series by Sarah J Maas. Though there’s no title or anything yet, I can’t wait to get my hands on this delicious novel. It should be coming out near September of this year… at least I hope so.
    • “Winter” by Marissa Meyer. This is the last book in the Lunar Chronicles series, and though I am currently reading the first one, I still can’t wait for it to come out and just wrap up the series! Hopefully I’ll have read the other books by the time this one’s come out, too. This comes out November 10, 2015.
    • “An Ember in the Ashes” by Sabaa Tahir. This is a YA fantasy standalone novel about Laia, a scholar living under the rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason she goes undercover to prove his innocence. Elias is a soldier at the academy, but he’s thinking of quitting for good until he has to help find a new emperor for the empire. When their paths cross things change rapidly and could change the future of the empire itself. I like the idea of an academy setting. I haven’t read many like it, so I’m excited to see how Tahir plays it out in her debut novel. This comes out April 28, 2015.

    Those are six books that I am highly anticipating in 2015. I’m sure there will be more as I learn about them as the year goes on, but for now I think that’s not too bad, right? I can’t wait to read them and tell you what I thought.

    What are some of your most anticipated reads of 2015? Let me know in the comments!

  • #ProjectTBR and TBR Jar Challenge

    So these two TBR (to be read) “challenges” are concepts I saw on YouTube and wanted to talk about here on my blog and how I plan on participating in them this year!

    First, let me talk about Project TBR, which was originally introduced by Ben at benjaminoftomes. This is a concept many booktubers are jumping on, and I want to work on it, too.

    Pretty much, Project TBR is very similar to 0 by 16 in that its goal is to read as many books in your TBR pile as possible in 2015. It has more leeway though in that you don’t have to read all of the books in your TBR pile, but the gist of it is to read more books from your TBR than what you get throughout the year. So say you have 80 books on your TBR and you end up reading 50 of them by year’s end, and have only bought 20 books this year. That’s the objective of Project TBR: read more than you buy. So don’t have 80 books on your TBR, read 50, but end up buying 100 books. That defeats the purpose!

    Along with just reading and getting your TBR down, Ben talks about different ways in which to bring your TBR pile down such as: readalongs (reading books along with people), readathons (reading as many books in a set amount of time as possible), book diets (keeping your book buying down to a minimum), and reading sprints (reading as many pages as possible in a set amount of time). These are effective and fun ways to work your TBR down because you can do it with the community on Twitter, Facebook, libraries, the couch, wherever you want to!

    Remember, Project TBR is a year long event, so keep reading those books that have been sitting on your shelf and try to read as many as possible!

    The next thing that’s sort of related to this is the TBR Jar Challenge, which I originally saw on Katyastic‘s channel. This is a different kind of TBR Jar challenge in that it doesn’t have the titles of unread books, but rather twelve fun challenges to implement every month.

    The way it works is very simple: at the beginning of each month, draw one piece of paper from your jar (or box or whatever you have to hold these pieces of paper) and do that challenge for that month! It’s easy, right?

    The different challenges Kat uses are:

    1. Book with 500+ pages
    2. Reread a favorite book
    3. Read a 2015 debut novel
    4. Someone else picks for you
    5. Listen to an audiobook
    6. A DNF (did not finish)
    7. Read a new-to-you author (author you’ve never read before)
    8. Read a book that’s not a novel (non-fiction/short stories/poems/etc)
    9. Book to movie/TV adaptation (also watch that adaptation)
    10. Book that won an award
    11. Read a classic novel
    12. Finish a series

    So those are all of the challenges Kat came up with and I think all of them sound fun and entertaining! I definitely want to participate in the challenge, and though I already have my January TBR picked out for this month, I still want to do a challenge!

    The one I picked at random was… Book to movie/TV adaptation! Well, I already have “HP and the Goblet of Fire” picked out, so that just might be my challenge book for this month! Very exciting! Hopefully I finish it this month to complete the challenge.

    If you want to participate in these two TBR challenges for the year, please do! It is open to all book lovers, whether you blog or vlog or not! I think they’re fun, engaging, and totally help with getting down those piles, so I can’t wait to see how this year goes with these challenges!

    Accompanying video: #ProjectTBR & TBR Jar Challenge

    Let me know if you plan on participating down below in the comments! I’d love to hear about it!

  • Shatter Me Book Review

    shatterme

    Title: Shatter Me
    Author: Tahereh Mafi Series: Book #1 in the Shatter Me trilogy Publisher: HarperCollins
    Publication Date: November 15, 2011
    Genre: Young Adult – Dystopian, Romance
    Pages: 340
    Format: Purchased Paperback

    “Shatter Me” by Tahereh Mafi is a story about a girl named Juliette whose touch is deadly. She grows up being hated and feared by everyone, even her parents. When she is sent to the Reestablishment to be held as an insane asylum client, her world becomes different and changes upside down. She counts the minutes and seconds until the day a boy named Adam is also put in her cell, until the day she is essentially captured, until the day she becomes free.

    This is a young adult dystopian novel about survival and self discovery. It was an interesting and fast read and I was enthralled by the writing style Mafi uses throughout the book. It is unique in that it is a conscious stream of thought and many of the words and sentences are crossed out as though Juliette takes back those thoughts before they ever come into fruition. It’s definitely unique, as well as the amount of metaphors used throughout the novel. I don’t think it took away from the story, but rather enhanced it and added a bit more imagery for the situation at that current moment.

    Overall, I am excited to read the rest of the series, but like many other reviews I’ve seen, I had a few problems with it:

    • There wasn’t enough world building. This had so much potential to be something greater, and really I felt that it fell flat in terms of showing us what the world really looked like until the very end of the book.
    • There was a lot of intense, passionate moments that almost felt like insta-love. Though I did enjoy a lot of the romance, some of it felt out of place and too urgent and very hormone driven.
    • I didn’t feel like some things were explained in enough detail: what was the exact reason she was there? Why did Warner treat her the way he did? What was the exact reason for Adam’s presence there (aka the romance aspect)? I wished more had been expanded upon, really.
    • Some of it felt rushed, as though the plot (which wasn’t really defined and could have been so much better) didn’t exist until the second half of the book.

    Now that isn’t to say that this book didn’t have it’s benefits, too. I did enjoy a lot of this book, such as:

    • The romance parts. “But didn’t you just complain about the romance?” In some aspect, yes it felt annoying for some reason, but other times I was totally into it.
    • The writing style was unique and beautiful. I enjoyed the way we were really in Juliette’s head; it felt like we were in a troubled mind that was only getting stronger as the book progressed.
    • The cover is gorgeous (the paperback, not the old hardcover).
    • The character development on Juliette’s part was good and growing. I also enjoyed Kenji and James (they were like comic relief). Adam could have been expanded upon more. Warner is a twisted soul, very good villain.
    • I thought the concept of the powers that Juliette and others had was really cool. Kind of like mutants in a way.

    So, this book had both ups and downs, but I overall enjoyed it and hope the second book gets even better and that the plot is expanded upon.

    I rated this book 3.75/5 stars.