Blood Rose Rebellion (DNF Review)

Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves
Series: Blood Rose Rebellion #1
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Historical Fiction
Page Length: 416 pages
Format: ARC (received from Penguin/First In Line, still reaping the benefits from my B-Fest trivia win over the summer)
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 28, 2017

About Blood Rose Rebellion (via Goodreads):

The thrilling first book in a YA fantasy trilogy for fans of Red Queen. In a world where social prestige derives from a trifecta of blood, money, and magic, one girl has the ability to break the spell that holds the social order in place.

Sixteen-year-old Anna Arden is barred from society by a defect of blood. Though her family is part of the Luminate, powerful users of magic, she is Barren, unable to perform the simplest spells. Anna would do anything to belong. But her fate takes another course when, after inadvertently breaking her sister’s debutante spell—an important chance for a highborn young woman to show her prowess with magic—Anna finds herself exiled to her family’s once powerful but now crumbling native Hungary.

Her life might well be over.

In Hungary, Anna discovers that nothing is quite as it seems. Not the people around her, from her aloof cousin Noémi to the fierce and handsome Romani Gábor. Not the society she’s known all her life, for discontent with the Luminate is sweeping the land. And not her lack of magic. Isolated from the only world she cares about, Anna still can’t seem to stop herself from breaking spells.

As rebellion spreads across the region, Anna’s unique ability becomes the catalyst everyone is seeking. In the company of nobles, revolutionaries, and Romanies, Anna must choose: deny her unique power and cling to the life she’s always wanted, or embrace her ability and change that world forever.

DNF'd @ 28%

I believe this is a book that other people may enjoy, but it just wasn't right for me. I did like several elements of the novel, but there were also several issues that I could not get out of my head.

First, I want to briefly talk about the positives. I absolutely loved how Eves weaved the story and her magical system around historical Europe, and how she included so many different cultural aspects. Her writing flowed gracefully, and in general, things were masterfully created.

However, there was so much info-dumping in the first few chapters (and even beyond that). The information that was given could have definitely been more evenly distributed as the events of the novel unfolded. Especially because when there is a lot of explaining all at once, it is too easy to get swept up by it all and lose track of everything that was just dumped on the reader. I know I felt that way about the magic system and the world at first, and even as I continued reading because there was just too much for me to remember.

In addition, the pacing seemed really skewed to me. In the beginning, there seemed to be so much going on, yet it quickly became stagnant with very little plot progression at all. The pacing also negatively impacted my opinions of the characters. At the beginning, I could not develop any true feelings (much less positive ones) about any of the characters presented to me, including Anna, the protagonist. Almost immediately, the characters came across as snobbish and seem like massive, selfish jerks (other than their amazing Grandmama). I could barely sympathize with anyone.

Furthermore, although the setting and historical aspects were a nice change, most of the other aspects of the book were pretty trope-y and filled with cliches. There was the whole, almost reverse-chosen one thing going on where the girl with no powers in a world of super-humans somehow manages to overthrow society and change the world, and so much more that just seemed a repetition of the popular books before it.

Ultimately, Blood Rose Rebellion has a lot of potential, and I believe others may greatly enjoy it, but there were several flaws that were a turn-off for me. I honestly may pick it back up again in the near future, but as of right now, I have no intention of finishing.

The Geography of You and Me (Review) - Starry-Covered but Bleary-Eyed

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary
Page Length: 337 (hardcover)
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Poppy

About The Geography of You and Me 
(via Goodreads):

Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they’re rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father.

Lucy and Owen’s relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and—finally—a reunion in the city where they first met.

A carefully charted map of a long-distance relationship, Jennifer E. Smith’s new novel shows that the center of the world isn't necessarily a place. It can be a person, too.

I suppose I should’ve seen it coming when I admitted to myself that I was buying this book solely for the cover that I wouldn't end up enjoying it. Although for $6, it was a pretty decent deal.

The cover? It’s a gorgeous thing. Screams “cute” and “fluffy” and a goddammed cavity.

Another hint that this book isn’t exactly my type.

My fault, then.

This book is an okay story. But that’s just it. Okay. Not “great,” not “lovely,” just a simple “meh.” I mean, I got into it for the first couple of chapters, but not long after that, I began to skim. Skim being skipping over paragraphs and paragraphs, rapidly flipping and flipping and flipping hoping that something, anything happens before I sadly mark this book as a DNF.

This book is strongly mediocre. Strongly, I tell you. There is nothing that makes it stand out, nothing to make it have that ‘pop,’ that something to evoke any memories of Lucy and Owen or any of the meh adventures they’ve been through. Not much is going for it, which is a shame because I really like that cover.

(It’s always about the covers with you, isn’t it, Claudia?)

Yep. #NoShame.

It’s been, what, a couple of days since I last read it? And even now, I’m struggling to remember the detail. What was the main conflict? Something pretty mellow, that’s all I can say. The characters? Unremarkable in every way. Lucy is just that girl with disappearing parents, Owen is just that boy who has something sad in his past. You could apply this to half a dozen characters.

Jennifer E. Smith is one of those big names in contemporary, and chances are you’ve seen some of her books. Don’t let this review dissuade you from reading it, though. I’m going to try out the rest of her novels, too - partially because I’m in need for some sugar-sweet romance.

my rating: dnf

The Neverland Wars (DNF Review)

The Neverland Wars by Audrey Greathouse
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Retelling
Page Length: 302 pages
Format: eARC provided by author
Publication Date: May 9, 2016
Publisher: Clean Teen Publishing

I received a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

About The Neverland Wars (via Goodreads):

Magic can do a lot—give you flight, show you mermaids, help you taste the stars, and… solve the budget crisis? That's what the grown-ups will do with it if they ever make it to Neverland to steal its magic and bring their children home.

However, Gwen doesn't know this. She's just a sixteen-year-old girl with a place on the debate team and a powerful crush on Jay, the soon-to-be homecoming king. She doesn't know her little sister could actually run away with Peter Pan, or that she might have to chase after her to bring her home safe. Gwen will find out though—and when she does, she'll discover she's in the middle of a looming war between Neverland and reality.

She'll be out of place as a teenager in Neverland, but she won't be the only one. Peter Pan's constant treks back to the mainland have slowly aged him into adolescence as well. Soon, Gwen will have to decide whether she's going to join impish, playful Peter in his fight for eternal youth… or if she's going to scramble back to reality in time for the homecoming dance.

DNF'd @ 45%

I wanted to like this book. I really did. But I just couldn't. I'd been dying to finally read a Peter Pan retelling, and I really thought this particular concept sounded like a unique twist to the original story, but I'm sad to say I just couldn't get into it.

My favorite part definitely had to be the interaction between Peter, Gwen, and the mermaids in the lagoon. I love it when mermaids are portrayed on the more sinister side (like sirens) rather than innocent and naive creatures (like the ones in The Little Mermaid, as much as I do enjoy that film/story), and Greathouse did just that. The mermaids were haunting, intriguing, and not exactly evil, but they definitely had their own agendas.

Other than the mermaids, though, I thought the characters were pretty bland. At first, I thought I would be able to connect to Gwen, but I just couldn't. She seemed to lack so much depth, and the only thing I could really connect with was her struggle with growing up. And that concept was pretty much defenestrated when she quite literally threw herself out the window and flew off to Neverland with Peter Pan.

I'll admit that the secondary characters had a ton of potential, but they play such a minor role that I didn't really get the chance to appreciate them as characters. I wanted to learn more about the lost children's stories, learn about where they came from and why they were there. And maybe I could have gotten that if I had continued reading, but based on what little knowledge I learned from the many chapters already in Neverland, I don't know if that actually was going to happen.

Also, I read almost half the book and I feel like there was no conflict or action whatsoever. I know there's the looming "war" threat from the adults in the real world, but honestly I didn't see much reaction or preparation for battle or anything like that. There wasn't much plot in my opinion, other than the kids stomping around, eating, and telling stories.

All in all, The Neverland Wars had an interesting concept, but fell short of my expectations.

Sword and Verse (DNF Review)

Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Page Length: 384 pages
Format: Hardcover
Publication Date: January 19, 2016
Publisher: HarperTeen

About Sword and Verse (via Goodreads):

Raisa was only a child when she was kidnapped and enslaved in Qilara. Forced to serve in the palace of the King, she’s endured hunger, abuse, and the harrowing fear of discovery. Everyone knows that Raisa is Arnath, but not that she is a Learned One, a part of an Arnath group educated in higher order symbols. In Qilara, this language is so fiercely protected that only the King, the Prince, and Tutors are allowed to know it. So when the current Tutor-in-training is executed for sharing the guarded language with slaves and Raisa is chosen to replace her, Raisa knows that, although she may have a privileged position among slaves, any slipup could mean death.

That would be challenging enough, but training alongside Prince Mati could be her real undoing. And when a romance blossoms between them, she’s suddenly filled with a dangerous hope for something she never before thought possible: more. Then she’s approached by the Resistance—an underground army of slaves—to help liberate the Arnath people. Joining the Resistance could mean freeing her people…but she’d also be aiding in the war against her beloved, an honorable man she knows wants to help the slaves.

Working against the one she loves—and a palace full of deadly political renegades—has some heady consequences. As Raisa struggles with what’s right, she unwittingly uncovers a secret that the Qilarites have long since buried…one that, unlocked, could bring the current world order to its knees.

And Raisa is the one holding the key.

DNF'd @ 28%

Let me start by saying that I absolutely ADORED the world MacMillan created in Sword and Verse. The world was so unique and fascinating, and I loved learning about the mythology. There was so much potential for greatness, and perhaps I missed out on a lot of it because I stopped reading at 28%, but the plot was quite rushed and I found myself getting confused quite a bit.

Within the first few chapters, there were already massive time jumps, and I felt like I lost so much time that I could have had getting to know the characters better. The romance between Raisa and Mati, although developing over a span of a year, seemed like insta-love because I couldn't see any of their prior interactions or their gradual development of feelings toward each other.

Even though Raisa and Mati's romance was kind of cute at first, it swallowed the whole first 100 pages of the plot and I started to become bored. Where was all the action? Also, even though Raisa did love Mati, she wasn't all that nice to him, and it bothered me so much. She was so obsessed with him, yet she didn't even know how to treat him right. She started demanding things from him that were completely out of his control, and honestly, it felt like she only cared about herself.

Sword and Verse does have an incredible concept and beautifully crafted world, but it just wasn't the book for me. I'm considering giving it another try later in the year, but I've just been really busy lately and don't want to take up my limited free time with a book I'm not fully enjoying.