Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer

ISBN: 9780312642976
Source: Purchased
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #3
Release Date: February 4, 2014
Goodreads  |  Amazon
See my reviews for previous books in this series
*Please note that this review may contain spoilers for the first two books in the series, Cinder and Cress*

     SYNOPSIS:

Rapunzel’s tower is a satellite. She can’t let down her hair—or her guard.

In this third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker—unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.

      REVIEW:

It has been a long, long time since I've been as excited for a book as I was for Cress. I spent days texting, tweeting and posting about the countdown to #SaveCRESS and it was so much fun! Thankfully the book lived up to the hype, too!

I have so many thoughts about this book that I can't seem to form coherent ones. First of all, it was amazing. I LOVED Cress and at first I didn't think I'd love her but she was smart and innocent and sweet and ADORABLE. I did think, however, that with so many POVs that are now in play, Cress didn't really get her due. She still has so much development potential as well as some with Thorne and I was kind of hoping for something a little more solid on that front, but hey, ya can't win em all.

I went through so many emotions while reading Cress, but mostly I was angry, scared and weepy! The characters did not have an easy go of it this time around. I spent most of the book with my mouth gaping open hoping and praying that Meyer was not going to let things end up badly. For the most part, it ended up alright but I'm still a little heartbroken over a few things. :(

We met a few more extremely important characters in this book, like Winter and Jacin Clay. And um, the jury is still out on them. I have to be honest, I was not loving Jacin. He was a little bit of a tool, and I felt pretty bad about that considering I know he'll have a pretty big role in Winter. And Winter... I am so, so interested in her character but she is so far from what I was expecting that it makes me kind of nervous.

I sort of forgot how much I liked Meyer's writing in that it's still a bit juvenile considering the age group that is really becoming the fandom for this series. I like the innocence that is still part of the story, especially in a genre that is flooded with smutty adult fiction disguised as YA because the hero/heroine is 17 or 18. However, sometimes it was a little slow because she took her time with every little detail but I loved it and I love that every thing that happens at this point adds a new puzzle piece to the story as a whole.

I really, really loved Cress and I'm looking forward to re-reading the series again before Winter comes out because um, I CANNOT WAIT ONE ENTIRE YEAR FOR WINTER. GIVE. ME. NOWWW.

RATING: ★★★★ 1/2

Cress was my most anticipated book for 2014 and it did not disappoint. I love every character even more than I already did and I'm really intrigued to see how this is all going to work out with Winter and Jacin, and how things will resolve for the characters that we already know and love.

Did you get to read Cress already? What did you think!? I absolutely loved it and I hope you did too! Tell me what you thought!

A.

Book-to-Movie Review: Vampire Academy

Happy Sunday everyone!! Who went to see Vampire Academy this weekend?

THIS girl did! To be completely and totally honest with you, I expected it to be really, really bad. Have you seen Beautiful Creatures? Remember how god-awful that was? That's basically what I was expecting. Nonsensical, cheesy, alternative endings... etc.

I was so, so wrong. The usual concern for a book-to-movie adaptation are plot changes and things being added in or taken out. I won't lie: things were left out - but it worked for the movie. It moved swiftly and hit all the major plot points including things with Natalie and Victor Dashkov, and I thought it was awesome that they added in some of the tiny little details that are used in later books and could be used in later movies. ***SPOILER*** They did add in this weird little thing about Moroi spraying blood on the walls with their wrists like some strange fad which was awkward and incredibly stupid but, hey - ya win some, ya lose some. ***END SPOILER***

Vampire Academy was hysterically funny. I originally hated the trailers because they seemed cheesy and silly but the movie really played up Rose's sarcasm while still keeping the air of darkness that is part of the books. I was cracking up the whole time and even the "let's make tonight our bitch" line from the trailer seemed less cheesy in context.

Zoey Deutch did an awesome job playing Rose! She was the perfect mix of sarcasm and bad-ass, I just loved her! Lucy Fry who played Lissa made me like her character when I never liked her much in the books. She was brought to life and was a little bit more 3-dimensional in the movies. I wasn't entirely crazy about the casting for Christian but I think Dominic Sherwood did a good job, even if he didn't look exactly how I'd pictured him in my head.

Okay, so maybe I didn't hate the casting of of Dimitri that much..

And I know you're all wondering: Dimitriiiii! I was not happy with the casting for Dimitri. Danila Kozlovsky looked too old (and I think he was actually older in the movie than in the book) and he wasn't.... sexy, for lack of a better term. I think we've all pictured Dimitri as this sexy guy with a hot bod but what we got was a little more mediocre. Attractive but not sexy, stocky but not chiseled. Not to mention the creep factor of him looking like he's 34, not 24. So needless to say, I was not happy with the choice for Dimitri..... until that secretly-hunky man SMILED. I about died when he smiled...those dimples... and when he says "Roza, my Roza"... Sweet Baby Jesus, I was a goner.. He did have a heavier accent than I was expecting though, which sometimes made it hard to understand him, but it was adorable and I loved it. I went in there expecting to hate him but I actually kind of love him, just wish he was hotter (and um.. younger..).

As further evidence of the awesomeness of this movie, I dragged my fiance with me (it was our anniversary and how could he tell me no?) and he said he fully expected to hate every second of it,  but he didn't. He actually gave it a rating of 3.5 out of 5. Again... an almost-30-year-old man, hates vampire crap, hates YA crap, hates everything I'm into... and he actually kind of liked it. He said he granted the extra .5 because it made him laugh out loud. I'm still amazed.

Rating: ★★★★ 1/2

Overall, I really, really liked Vampire Academy. I was pleasantly surprised and I think it did a great job of bringing the story to life! I actually liked it more than I liked the first book (it feels blasphemous to say this). I hope they make a movie for the next book too (kind of hoping they combine some of them so it's not a 6 movie series, eek). They definitely did everything right and left it open for the movie series to continue (instead of changing the ending, *ahem Beautiful Creatures ahem* to provide "closure"). Great movie and I actually kind of want to see it again.

Did you see Vampire Academy? What did you think? I loved it, I hope you all were as pleasantly surprised by it as I was!

A.

Review: Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

ISBN: 9781595143105
Source: Purchased
Series: Vampire Academy #4
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Goodreads  |  Amazon
See reviews for previous books in this series
*Please note that this review may contain spoilers for previous books in the series*

     SYNOPSIS:

DIMITRI'S HEART HAS GONE DARK.
Now Rose must journey to the ends of the earth to find - and kill - her one true love....
Or has the time come to join him?
My heart shattered. My world shattered.You will lose what you value most....It wasn't my life.... It wasn't even Dimitri's life.What you value most.It was his soul.

     REVIEW:

Coming off of the emotional rollercoaster that is Shadow Kiss, book 3, I was really anticipating reading Blood Promise, but I was also pretty nervous on how the rest of the story was going to play out. The entire journey through the books, especially Blood Promise, had an underlying feeling of Rose's pain through everything. Unfortunately for me, though, I had the majority of the story spoiled for me, so nothing was really a total surprise for me. However, it was still nerve wracking not being 100% sure if the horrible things at the end of Shadow Kiss would be resolved by the end of the series and how.

I liked meeting some more new characters, Sydney, Abe, the Belikovs. I think that was my favorite part - branching out. Rose finally really gets to leave St. Vladimir's and I think it did wonders for the story. It opened up the world that much more and allowed us some insight into the Vampire Academy world outside of St. Vladimir's and the Royal Court.

I did, however, come to the conclusion, about halfway through this book, that 6 books is just too long for a series that isn't mind-blowingly amazing. Probably, I'm hardwired for 3-book series and that's it. By book 4, I was dying to know how it all ended already and kind of pushing myself through. Not that I didn't enjoy them all, but then the books started getting to 500-600 pages. I love a good long book, but sheesh. The whole thing was a little too drawn out and I think a lot of it could've been cut out and sped the plot along better.

Unfortunately, this installment had a lot of random little plot holes that really annoyed me. None of them were things that really affected the story - just things that make you go "hey... wait a minute....???" And none of them were ever explained. To me it seemed like straight up lazy writing which really annoyed me because the writing as a whole had gotten so much better since book 1, and then it began regressing.

But, all in all, even when I don't absolutely love one of the books in this series, my favorite thing about them is: Dimitriiiii!! Have I said that before? Even when there were bad, bad things happening, I still loved him. There honestly was no romantic development in Blood Promise, not in the real sense of the word, but it was still perfect... It killed me in so many ways, I just don't know how to describe it...what more can I say?

     RATING: ★★★★

Blood Promise was a bit predictable at times and very drawn out. I enjoyed venturing outside of the standard settings for the Vampire Academy books, but I was anxious to get through this one to move onto the next so I can finally find out how it all goes down. Did I mention that 6 books is just too many for a non-mind-blowing series?

Have you read this far into this series? What did you think of this book in particular? Can't wait to hear from you!

A.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books that Bring on the Waterworks

Happy Tuesday! It's been a while since I've participated in Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is:

Top Ten books that will make you cry

10. 

The Color Purple by Alice Walker - Need I elaborate?

9. 

The Host by Stephenie Meyer - Some parts in this book had me crying like a baby.

8. 

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt - I love this book. It's one of the first ones I read as a kid and it gets me every time. And the movie? Don't get me started.

7. 

Anything by Jodi Picoult. I have literally cried over every book by her that I've ever read. And sometimes been enraged or overjoyed. I can't think of a time when a book by her hasn't left me emotionally unstable for a day or two... sigh..

6. 

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson - another one that I read early on. Actually, this is the first book I can ever remember making me cry. Group reading in 6th grade and I was the one weeping discreetly in the corner. Ugh, I was a sap, even then.

5. 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - it definitely wasn't my favorite book of all time but I dont think I need to explain. Some people said it didn't make them cry at all. To those people: you have no soul (kidding not kidding).

4.

Harry Potter Books 4-7 by J.K. Rowling. I cried at the end of every one of these books. You know why.

3. 

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - Again, need I elaborate?

2. 

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell - I had to read the last chapter several times just to be sure it was real. I cried and cried and cried. I've never felt so broken by a book that made me smile as much as it made me cry. 

1. 

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger - Seriously, guys, I don't think I've ever cried as hard over a book as I did this one. Like, if you want your heart broken beyond repair, read this book. It's amazing.

So, some people don't like books that destroy them. I, however, do. I generally grant an extra half to a whole star for books that get me that emotional. To me, it says something about the writing, the story, and the way the author made me connect with it as a whole.

Do you like to read books that make you cry? Which ones made you cry the most?

Leave a link to your posts so I can come visit!

A.

Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

ISBN: 9780316122382
Source: Christmas Gift! :)
Series: No, Stand-alone
Release Date: January 2, 2012
Goodreads  |  Amazon

     SYNOPSIS:

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?
Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row.
A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?
Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

     REVIEW:

Let me start by saying that I'm obsessed with the cover of this book! Its so unique and not overly flashy. Not to mention the adorable picture of what I believe to be Hadley and Oliver at the airport! I picked up this book in between binge-reading another series because I didn't have the next series book yet. I wanted something light and fluffy, a cute romance to occupy my time and it did not disappoint. I've seen some negative reviews of this book talking about it's lack of depth, but I thought that it did have more depth than what I was expecting, really. And anyway, look at the title - did you really expect something life-changing and earth-shattering? Come on, people.

Anyway, Smith's writing is really great and the third-person, present tense POV was really unique! It was engaging and gave it a more exciting feel, like the reader is right there with Hadley, experiencing all of her emotions along with her. I liked Hadley - she seemed smart and cute and just a bit (well... maybe a lot) damaged. I had some issues with Oliver. I thought he was funny and witty but I didn't quite catch the chemistry between him and Hadley as much as I'd have liked to. It was there... it just didn't quite make me swoon.

As I mentioned before, this book actually had much more emotional depth than I was expecting. Hadley is still reeling from the breaking apart of her family and now having to watch her father remarry before she is ready for him to. Smith touches on tough issues like cheating, divorce, remarriage, etc. and I found myself really connecting and feeling more emotional (and even getting a bit misty) toward those parts of the book rather than the development of a relationship between Hadley and Oliver. Somehow I connected more with the adult in the book than with the teenager... (does that mean I'm too old for YA!? Nooo)

While a bit predictable and with a romance that lacked that something, I really did enjoy this quick and easy read. I was very pleased with the way it all turned out. Maybe a bit too far into the "tidy-bow" department (as I like to refer to endings with too clean of a happy ending), but I expected no more and no less from this book, so I was happy with it.

     RATING: ★★★★

Cute - Fun - Quirky. These are the words I would use to describe most of this book. The chemistry lacked a little but it was made up for in funny one-liners and more emotional depth than you'd expect from a young adult romance novel, so bravo to Smith!

I enjoyed this one a lot. Have any of you read it? What did you think about the romance? The family issues for both Hadley and Oliver? I can't wait to hear what you think!

A.