I recieved a copy of FRESH INK from the publisher via NetGalley. This does not affect my review. Fresh Ink: An Anthology edited by Lamar Giles PUBLISHER: Crown Books for Young Readers RATING:★★★★☆ SERIES: Standalone PAGES: 198 BUY HERE:Book Depository / Amazon US Goodreads
Not to speak too soon, but I’ve been in a slump for a while, and this anthology felt like a breath of fresh air.
I wasn’t expecting the mixed story formats, either; I really enjoyed the surprise of a play and a comic (if that is the proper term for it) mixed in. I think the stories were also really easy to glide through, and there was not a single one that dragged for me.
My favorites were TAGS by Walter Dean Myers, WHY I LEARNED TO COOK by Sara Farizan, A BOY’S DUTY by Sharon G. Flake, ONE VOICE by Melissa de la Cruz, and SUPER HUMAN by Nicola Yoon. I’ll definitely be looking more into these authors to try and read more of their work, and I appreciate having this anthology to introduce me to them.
One thing I also appreciated was how these stories, for the most part, weren’t about suffering. Many of the BIPOC characters I get to read about usually have their suffering at the center of their narrative, but I got to see those characters happy and fulfilled many times over in this anthology, and I loved it a whole lot.
My shelves definitely are not diverse enough, and that’s a fault of both mine and the publishing industry. I’m always trying to read more OwnVoices stories, and this is a great launching pad to do that even more.
DISCLAIMER: I’ve put off writing this post for almost TWO YEARS (yeah. I know.) so the details are fuzzy but thankfully my past self wrote everything down immediately after the event, so that’s where most of my info is coming from 🙂
On September 15, 2016, I met Sarah J. Maas at her stop in Crestview Hills, KY on her Empire of Storms tour. I’ll just tell everything in the whole world about it to you all, including the process of getting my tickets, what the event organization was like, and of course, meeting Sarah J. Maas herself!
PRE-EVENT DAY
So y’all may think I’m extra, but I have to have every. little. detail planned for events like these. You’ll get what I mean later.
On June 21, Sarah announced her tour stops, and I immediately knew I had to go to the stop nearest me even though I had never ever been to an author event before and I needed to convince my mom, especially because it was on a school night. The same day, I got my mom’s permission, and I immediately started checking the bookstore’s website- linked here, they’re wonderful– for tickets. I don’t remember the exact day (and I can’t go on Instagram to check, yikes), but eventually, I got the tickets and I WAS SO EXCITED.
PRO TIP: Get your tickets as early as possible. It varies for each event, but at this event at this bookstore, the earlier you get your ticket, the earlier you get to line up for the event. I didn’t know this and we had to wait much longer than expected.
I had a lot of questions about the event since I had never been to one before, so I emailed the bookstore like crazy. I wanted to know if pictures were allowed, if there was assigned seating, how many books I was allowed to have, literally everything. The bookstore was incredibly kind and told me all I needed to know. I highly recommend Joseph-Beth Bookstores. They made sure my 13-year-old self was very prepared to meet Sarah.
PRO TIP: Eat before your event. Even if it makes you late, even if you can’t get a great seat. Your stomach will thank you.
EVENT DAY
So. Event day. I was freaking out all day, wondering what I was gonna say, if we were gonna get there on time, etc. I get out of school at 2:10pm, the drive is about an hour and a half without traffic (which brings us to 3:40pm), and the event started at 6pm.
PRO TIP: Accomodate for traffic in your driving time.
My wonderful mother took a half-day and we immediately took off after school. We hit major traffic, and so we ended up getting to the bookstore around 5pm after eating at a fast food place within walking distance.
Imagine you’re me: extremely nervous about probably being late, lugging 3 thick hardcover books, mom walking beside you also lugging 3 thick hardcover books, having absolutely no idea how this event is organized.
Now, when we walked in, my mom had to ask an employee for our tickets + books- at this bookstore, you get the book the tour is for and your ticket in line together (they cost about $38 for my mom + I to both get books and tickets).
PRO TIP: People who come with you don’t typically have to purchase a book. This may just be for my bookstore, but the event itself is free, but the book + the signing are not. You have to buy the book to meet the author at most bookstores.
So, once we had gotten our books and tickets, we got fairly good seats (they’re first come first serve), wondered what it meant that our tickets said Group C, took pictures on Snapchat with the tour filter (seen left, hehe), generally existed for an hour.
And then Sarah came out, and my life just felt complete, yknow?
(She was also in conversation with Emery Lord the whole time, just so y’all know.)
THE EVENT
All of this next information comes from the note I wrote everything down into right after the event, and it’s mostly random info:
Sarah told her grandmother that she should beware ACOMAF because of its [cough] contents, but she just said “That’s right up my alley!”
Sarah’s favorite Disney movies are Mulan & Beauty and the Beast; her favorite prince is Phillip from Sleeping Beauty
Sarah took piano lessons from age 12-14, and at a recital where everyone else was playing classical pieces, she played My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion
Sarah loves Stranger Things
ACOMAF was going to be named “A Court of Wind and Stone” but the British publisher said they couldn’t name it that because wind means fart in Great Britian
Sarah uses a lithograph bag as her shopping bag and always hopes someone notices and asks what it is so she can say “the most awesome series ever!”
In general, Sarah and Emery were so, so, so funny. Even after going to other events, my mom and I still agree that those two were so incredibly entertaining.
MEETING SARAH
So, we had to wait an hour in our seats until we got to stand in line for another hour- how nice!- and the calling of groups was very unclear but it all worked out in the end.
Now, posed pictures were not allowed because that would take too much time, but candids were allowed. Being the person I am, I spent the whole hour in line mentally preparing myself to ask the person behind me to take pictures and EVENTUALLY I ASKED THEM AND THEY TOOK PICTURES. Blessed.
The picture you see to the right is one that said wonderful person behind me took right before I actually met her, which is a constant mood.
I had prepared a story of how I was reading Queen of Shadows and how I yelled “ROWAN’S BACK!” in class and it led to an Eminem-type joke with my friends (Rowan’s back, back, back… like Slim Shady… no? okay), and I GOT TO TELL IT TO HER. It’s been two years and I’m still marveling over it.
My mom was in line with me, but I was so nervous that I wouldn’t have enough time to tell Sarah my story that, according to my mom, she only said “Hello!” to Sarah before I jumped right in and went on with my story. I told my story, she laughed at all the right places- it haunts me to this day if she actually recognized the Slim Shady story or if I was just, yknow, a weird girl with wild hand gestures talking about how Rowan’s back.
It’s probably both.
You can see me, left, having wild hand gestures and Sarah signing EOS and just a generally amazing time happening. That was me launching into the story with a good shoulder shrug and my hands spinning into oblivion.
At the end of my story, she laughed (she’s the CUTEST) and said “Rowan would be very proud.” Rowan was my favorite character at the time, so I think a part of me either died or was deified in that moment.
PRO TIP: If you want, you can maybe get the author you’re meeting to remember you more by doing something just a little extra, such as telling a story or bringing a gift (if you’re allowed) or m
At this particular event, you only got one book with a hand signature and a dedication but two more with normal signatures. Sarah’s hand was (is?) hurt- you can see her cast in the pictures- so it’s 100% cool. Because of this, though, everyone got however many books they wanted stamped with a special gold ink signature with Empire of Storms Tour on it.
Now, I didn’t realize this, but Sarah’s husband (who sat right next to her) was the one doing said stamping and I was so dazed after having Sarah laugh at one of my own stories (!!!!!) that I just walked right by him (so did my mom) and he called out to both of us, saying something like “You want your books stamped…?” and of COURSE we were like YES and he was incredibly kind and my mom and I talk about him to this day.
Whoa, that was a very long sentence.
I eventually got to write in the legendary book that Sarah brings to every event for fans to sign if she wants (the person who took pictures for me handed me back my phone while I was signing- I literally left it with them?!?!? I’m so dumb?!?!?), and then we left, and thus concluded a wonderful day.
If you ever have the opportunity to meet any author and you have sufficient funds and transportation, I highly recommend it. Even if you barely know the author! It’s so much fun and you won’t regret it.
In conclusion, here are the rest of the wonderful pictures:
this is the VERY beginning of my story! I said “I have a story to tell you” and she said “okay!” and i just LAUNCHED INwe stared into each other’s souls and I think you can see how huge my smile is??????? here’s Sarah laughing at my story. not sure if my soul ascending is pictured but it’s def happening! (also do you see her husband literally doing the ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) face I’m so)my mom looking at me very proudly & Sarah saying “Rowan would be very proud!”
if y’all have any questions, feel free to ask!!! I’d love to answer them!! sorry for the unnecessarily long post!!
I recieved a copy of IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE from the publisher via Netgalley. This does not affect my review. It Started With Goodbye by Christina June PUBLISHER: Blink/HarperCollins RATING:★★★☆☆ SERIES: Standalone PAGES: 269 BUY HERE:Book Depository / Amazon US Goodreads
I have Feelings about this book. A lot of Feelings that I can’t really sum up in an introduction sentence, so is it good with you if I just jump straight in? Yes? Okay, good.
P L O T & C H A R A C T E R S
Even though it feels incredibly simple, the plot of IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE was surprisingly enjoyable. It took me a while to pick up on all the nods to Cinderella, weak as they were, but once I did, I really liked being able to point them out. The little connections to previously mentioned things at the climax was also really nice; June really took the “if there’s a gun in the first act, it should be fired in the second” advice to heart.
I honestly don’t know what was accomplished through this novel. Sure, a few relationships were formed, but our main character didn’t really have a huge change of heart. None of the arcs, character- or plot-related, were satisfying.
The characters were not particularly unique either- and the characterization of one was quite… irritating, but besides for that, it was a pretty okay cast. I’ve seen multiple people bragging about SK, but honestly, I wasn’t very entranced. Oops.
W R I T I N G
And here’s the element that brought the book down. I really didn’t like the writing style; maybe that’s because I had just finished a novel with an amazing writing style and nothing could ever live up to that, or maybe it’s because it just… wasn’t good.
Mainly, the writing led to some of the most inconsistent characterization I’ve ever seen for our main character (who, in all honesty, I still don’t know the name of). Let’s look at just a few things I highlighted to show this:
I was starting to think I had a valediction complex, I was worrying about it so much.
Abby had an abundance of chutzpah, which was part of why I liked her…
“I think my stepgrandmother might actually love this car, and would drive it like she was on the autobahn.”
So you all can see in all three of these quotes, the words “valediction” (please just say closing), “chutzpah” (what), and “autobahn” (WHAT) are all used. They are all said by a SIXTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL who also said “interwebz” at another point.
Why, you ask, does this girl have such an extensive vocabulary? Oh, I guess she’s been studying English frequently and wanted to learn more words.
NOPE. She’s a graphic designer. A normal sixteen-year-old girl. NO ONE I know at that age has EVER used those quotes.
Then, later in the book, as if she hasn’t just used words that I had to look up…
Unique opportunity? Elite? I didn’t know anyone else my age who would say those things.
You all can see why I’m frustrated, right? I’m not alone here? This girl thinks that “autobahn” is commonly said, while “elite” and “unique opportunity” aren’t. Give me a BREAK.
I also wanted to talk about one other quote, said by our favorite SK:
You get bonus points for the brown. Clearly, you pay attention to details- I like that in a girl.
First off, that’s the worst line I’ve heard in a long time. Second, you literally just hired this girl to design a portfolio for you. Of COURSE she pays attention to details. Aaaaagh.
Okay, I was lying. I wanna talk about how actions are displayed in this book as well. Here’s a quote of action displayed horribly:
“I think there are better ways of teaching that concept, Dad.” Even though he couldn’t see me, I went ahead and made bunny ears when I said “teaching.”
Yes, I know that the narrator made air quotes. Yes, I know that air quotes vaguely look like bunny ears. Despite this, whenever I first read that, my mind immediately had the narrator giving herself actual bunny ears instead of air quotes. Y’all see what I’m getting at? I can’t STAND that.
In conclusion, IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE- I have no idea what that title means, by the way- is a wonderfully simple book that could have been written much better. I recommend this novel to anyone looking for a possibly quick & cutesy read.
I recieved a copy of AS YOU WISH from the publisher via Netgalley. This does not affect my review. As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti PUBLISHER: Sourcebooks Fire RATING: ★★★★☆ SERIES: Standalone PAGES: 417 BUY HERE: Book Depository / Amazon US Goodreads
I really don’t know what it is about Chelsea Sedoti’s novels that makes my heart sing.
It’s probably how wonderful and real her characters are in just a slightly odd setting. Madison honestly felt like a real place to me, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I went to Nevada and came across it.
The writing style is so simplistic and raw. I felt like it really was Eldon writing AS YOU WISH; his voice is so distinct and clear. Like I said before: everything just felt so real. Rather than creating a fictional story, I felt like Sedoti was simply reporting on a real person in a real town and decided to get a firsthand account.
Geez, I realy love Chelsea Sedoti.
Yeah, this novel could’ve done without so much vulgarity. Yeah, this novel probably could’ve existed without having suicide included. But- and I hate saying this- it makes the novel that much more real. I think the town of Madison represents the whole of humanity, and including incredibly tragic occurences like suicide that do happen more often than they should is necessary to keep that real factor.
There were only a couple things I didn’t like: the general tone & the way the wishing cave was approached. I really wish there was some revelation for the suicidal character that could’ve made a point about how life goes on and improves and it could’ve helped someone who is currently suicidal, but no such thing. The whole of AS YOU WISH has an incredibly melancholy tone and frequently suggests that life never really gets better, and that’s not really my type of novel. I also wish that the wishing cave had more reasoning to exist, or we had explored at least a few theories about it.
Overall, I enjoyed AS YOU WISH for its realism and writing style, but not so much for its general tone and handling of topics. I recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a very grounded magical realism read.
Thank you to Sara Crawford for sending me a finished copy of WE OWN THE SKY for free. This does not affect my review or opinion in any way.
We Own the Sky by Sara Crawford PUBLISHER: CreateSpace RATING:★★★☆☆ (3.5 stars) SERIES: The Muse Chronicles, #1 PAGES: 510 BUY HERE:Book Depository / Amazon US Goodreads
WE OWN THE SKY was a whole jumble of thoughts and concepts that I have a lot to say about and can’t really sum up in a hook sentence so here goes nothing, y’all!
P L O T
First off, the concept of WE OWN THE SKY is really cool. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Muses before, and I really like how thoroughly they were explained in this novel. I even felt that the system was explained a little too much; at one point, we’ve already had Sylvia learn about the system, and an Earthly Muse learns about it very soon after, and it just felt unnecessary and boring. (Now that I’m thinking about it, that whole character sees unnecessary to the whole plot, but maybe she’ll come up in the sequel?)
As a whole novel, though, I feel like we didn’t get too much accomplished in this book. We set up a whole concept, sure, but that’s expected of a first book and much more. The relationship that was set up felt very rushed, but at least it was established. And we’re right back at square one at the end- which, speaking of the end…
…what the heck kinda ending was that?! I felt like this duology was written in full, and then they decided “let’s cut it straight down the middle and see what happens!”. I am here for cliffhangers as much as your average Joe, but this one left me more annoyed than anticipating.
C H A R A C T E R S
Okay, so in WE OWN THE SKY, we have our two main characters, right? And they fall in love- not a spoiler, it’s in the description- and normally I wouldn’t mind that. The thing is, in this novel, their relationship is developed SO QUICKLY. Our main character, Sylvia, goes from thinking he’s cute to being in love with him in almost no time.
I just don’t get it.
Vincent was also too good to be true! He didn’t have many flaws-besides for being sad a couple of times and not being there every second of Sylvia’s life like she wanted him to (which is quite annoying, by the way). Pretty uninteresting character.
Sylvia herself also never came right out and said it, but she definitely had an I’m-not-like-other-girls attitude. If you are a human being, then that’s gotta get under your skin.
This novel also didn’t allow me to really get attatched to any of the characters. I feel like we don’t see most of the characters enough and their relationships to Sylvia aren’t really developed; they seem cut-and-dry when I stand back for a second. None of the characters really have clear descriptions, either; I know Vincent is tall, dark, and handsome, but besides for that? No idea.
Overall, WE OWN THE SKY had an interesting concept with mediocre execution. I really feel like Crawford’s writing and general execution will greatly improve in the sequel, so I look forward to reading that! I’d recommend WE OWN THE SKY to anyone who is looking for a fairly easy read that can hold your interest for the most part.
Night of Cake and Puppets by Laini Taylor & Jim Di Bartolo PUBLISHER: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers RATING:★★★★★ SERIES: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, #2.5 PAGES: 256 BUY HERE:Book Depository / Amazon US Goodreads
I cannot even begin to describe to you all how much of a blessed relief this novella has been for me. It’s so cute! So precious! So entertaining!
All in all, this novel had everything I could ever want.
I can’t dive too deep in this review but can I just say… ZUZANA AND NIK ARE THE ABSOLUTE CUTEST. I don’t care who you are, what you do, but this relationship is necessary for you to read about and to live vicariously through.
With AP testing existing in these past few weeks (and one more in a couple days!), this book was SO easy to get through and the illustrations were the perfect accompaniment to the story. Wow, I could never regret reading this.
All in all, this is the cutest. You need to read it. Please. Please. PLEASE.
Thank you to Sourcefire Books for sending me an ARC of MASK OF SHADOWS via Netgalley for free. This does not affect my review or opinion in any way.
Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller PUBLISHER: Sourcefire Books RATING:★☆☆☆☆ SERIES: Mask of Shadows, #1 PAGES: 352 BUY HERE:Book Depository / Amazon US Goodreads
Buckle your seatbelt, friend. I’m about to spend even more time on this book than it deserves. Ohhhh boy.
DISCLAIMER: This is not an attack against the author or publisher or anyone who has worked on MASK OF SHADOWS. I am simply expressing my opinion, and if yours differs from mine, that is fine. I also read an ARC of this novel, so some of the quotes I include may not be included in the final published version.
This review is for my 2018 reread of this novel. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline PUBLISHER: Broadway Books RATING:★★★★★ SERIES: Standalone PAGES: 374 BUY HERE: Book Depository / Amazon US Goodreads
This book is simultaneously so bad and so good.
Before you start yelling at me or cheering with me or being generally confused (welcome to my day-to-day mental state), let me explain.
The writing isn’t good. The plot is pretty basic and flimsy and there is only one twist that I don’t think anyone saw coming. The characters don’t really have personalities (you tell me if any of the characters are kind after reading this. that’s right, you have NO HECKIN IDEA. at least every single character is witty except for I-r0k, right?). Some characters aren’t used to their full potential (looking at you who disappears, I-r0k).
But I still love this book.
It’s just so easy to get wrapped up in the world, to have Wade firsthand tell you the story even if it’s full of info-dumping, to not understand even half of the references but still loving every possible thing surrounding READY PLAYER ONE. And this book is kind of nostalgic for me at this point. I read it three years ago during a summer where I had nothing to do but read and I gobbled this book up. I just feel so content when reading this novel, no matter its quality.
I don’t really want to get into specifics into plot and characters and writing and all that, but know this: some characters have so much potential to affect the story that is never recognized, some characters I would love to know more about (lookin at you, Halliday), some characters are so much stronger in the book than the movie (oh, hey, Art3mis), some characters are so great for representation and the tiniest bit of social commentary (I see you, Aech), some characters just didn’t deserve their ending, some characters are just so close to my heart I can’t stand it (what’s up, Wade), the plot is fairly predictable but SO MUCH FUN, the writing is a disaster, and I could go on for years, but I gotta stop somewhere.
Read this book. I don’t care if you love the ’80s, if you love action or sci-fi or fantasy or whatever, if you just generally like books. This book will (hopefully) (probably) (most likely) make you feel at home just as much as it did for me.
Thank you to Swanifide Publishing for sending me a copy of A STOLEN CROWN via Netgalley for free. This does not affect my review or opinion in any way.
A Stolen Crown by Kelsey Keating PUBLISHER: Swanifide Publishing RATING: ★★★☆☆ (3.5 stars) SERIES: Stolen Royals, #2 PAGES: 331 BUY HERE:Book Depository / Amazon US Goodreads
This book was a good bit better than the first one, and PSA, you don’t have to read the first one in the series to understand this one; I feel that these are more companion books than actual books in a series.
Anyways, let’s get into the good and the bad parts of this book.
I recieved a copy of FRESH INK from the publisher via NetGalley. This does not affect my review.
PRO TIP: People who come with you don’t typically have to purchase a book. This may just be for my bookstore, but the event itself is free, but the book + the signing are not. You have to buy the book to meet the author at most bookstores.
I recieved a copy of IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE from the publisher via Netgalley. This does not affect my review.
I recieved a copy of AS YOU WISH from the publisher via Netgalley. This does not affect my review.
Thank you to Sara Crawford for sending me a finished copy of WE OWN THE SKY for free. This does not affect my review or opinion in any way.
Night of Cake and Puppets by Laini Taylor & Jim Di Bartolo
Thank you to Sourcefire Books for sending me an ARC of MASK OF SHADOWS via Netgalley for free. This does not affect my review or opinion in any way.
This review is for my 2018 reread of this novel.
Thank you to Swanifide Publishing for sending me a copy of A STOLEN CROWN via Netgalley for free. This does not affect my review or opinion in any way.
sav scribbles 