The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff | Retrospective Book Review

All great acts are ruled by intention. What you mean is what you get.

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

LENGTH: 343 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Horror, Young Adult, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Razorbill/Penguin Group

RELEASE DATE: 21 September 2010

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.

Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate’s baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place in our world, or theirs.

My Review

“Do you really want to know where we come from?” she said. “In every century, in every country, they’ll call us something different. They’ll say we’re ghosts, angels, demons, elemental spirits, and giving us a name doesn’t help anybody. When did a name change what someone is?”

It’s been a while since I’ve gone back and gone over books I’ve read in the past. And seeing as June has been a rougher month for me in regards to reading, I thought it was time for another retrospective book review.

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff is something I’ve read quite some time ago, but it’s always been something I’ve enjoyed. And, as I’ve realized going back through it, something I still enjoy.

The simple truth is that you can understand the way you are. You can know and love and hate it. You can blame it, resent it, and nothing changes. In the end, you’re just a part of it.

Mackie Doyle 🪇 is our resident protagonist here, as well as our point-of-view character. He’s a little whiny and nervous at first, which is a little annoying, and is something I usually hate more often than not. But that wasn’t the case with this novel. I actually enjoyed following him and his story. I also enjoyed his character development. There’s a lot of interesting stuff regarding him and his identity that really kept the momentum going throughout the whole story. (This was a book that I found somewhat difficult to put down.)

Tate Stewart 🎱 is another one of our main characters, and features heavily throughout the novel. She’s my favorite character in the book. The feisty, determined kind of protagonist, but not in the annoying way that so many female protagonists are written like nowadays. There’s substance to her. I also loved how she didn’t take Mackie’s crap those times when he kind of started to angst/whine and would immediately set him straight. She and Mackie were pretty well balanced and cute together.

Emma Doyle 🌿 is Mackie’s sister, and a pivotal character in the novel. It’s because of her and her actions before and during the plot of the book that things ultimately turn out alright. She and Mackie had an excellent sibling bond.

The simple truth is that you can understand a town. You can know and love and hate it. You can blame it, resent it, and nothing changes. In the end, you’re just another part of it.

I also really enjoyed the plot 📖 of this book. Before I got the book, I looked into reviews, which is something I don’t always do. And when I looked at these reviews, some thought certain things were unclear about the story and the twist, but that’s definitely something I disagree with.

I think that it’s pretty obvious what’s going on in the town of Gentry, even from the beginning. And they basically spell it out in the climax, just without being too specific. But it’s still clear. I also really liked how the whole town was in denial about everything. This is a plot that’s heavily involved with the fae, but like the more lore accurate kind of fae, unlike in A Court of Thorns and Roses and all the romantasy books that spawned from it. And I loved how everything was handled.

I looked at the ground and the dark, drizzling sky and pretty much anyplace that wasn’t her. “I like you. A lot.” When I finally glanced at her, my face was hot and it was hard to keep looking.

She squinted up at me. Then she crossed her arms. “This is a really inappropriate place to be having this conversation.”

“I know. I like you anyway.”

Saying it a third time was like breaking some kind of spell. Her face went soft and far away.

“Don’t say that unless you mean it.”

“I don’t say anything I don’t mean.”

The romance 💘 was a bit of a slow-burn, but it was executed really well. I thought that Mackie and Tate worked really well as a couple – they felt like a team. I wish that books would do that more, romance so often doesn’t feel this way to me, and this is my favorite kind of romance.

I thought that the writing 📝 was also very good. I felt pretty immersed the whole way through, and as I mentioned earlier, it was a compelling read that I had a bit of difficulty putting down sometimes while reading. I also really liked the dialogue – I thought it was written well and felt very natural.

“What’s wrong?” His voice was loud, so sharp that he sounded angry.

I knew I should be careful, keep the secret, but I was too far gone to talk around it. My chest was working in huge spasms and I could barely breathe. “I kissed her.”

“And then you went into anaphylactic shock?”

I closed my eyes and let the rain patter against my face through the open window “She has her tongue pierced.”

And I still feel basically the same way about this stuff now. I really do think The Replacement is a solid YA fantasy novel with fantastic horror elements to it, that also has a great ending. I recommend it to those who like the other fairy lore that doesn’t tend to make it into the romantasy genre.

As always, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

MY LINKS:

Goodreads

Instagram

All the Books I Read Last Year | Reading 2024

Here it is! Part 2 of my reading wrap-up for the books I read during 2024. You can check out Part #1 here if you’re interested in the rest of my statistics from The StoryGraph and you haven’t already.

Anyway, I read 55 books which were 21,359 pages all together. So many books! Not as many as I read in 2023, but still, so many books. I’m hoping that 2025 will be just as good a year regarding reading as the last two years have been.

2024 Reading Wrap-Up

The Books I Read in 2024

How many books did you read last year? How many did you like and dislike? What was your favorite and least favorite? Did we read any of the same books?

Anyway, last year was amazing, and I did pretty well with my novel reading as well as posting on this blog. I think. I’m really happy with the amount of books I got around to reading, honestly.

But yeah, as always, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have a great day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Another Year of Books: Reading 2024

Another year, another several dozen books read. For me at least. Though I didn’t read quite as much as I did in 2023, it was still a pretty significant amount of books.

But I’m not gonna waste time explaining everything to you guys. The StoryGraph has all these awesome features that track different aspects of your reading. It’s really cool. So, without further ado, here’s all of my stats from the year from The StoryGraph.

Though, special note, this is gonna be a two-part post, ’cause there’s just so much information on The StoryGraph regarding my stats for last year. Almost too much, honestly. So expect Part #2 tomorrow.

Note: Part #2 is now posted. You can check it out here if you’re interested.

So yeah. These are all my statistics and stuff from The StoryGraph. Well, almost all of them at least. The rest of them are coming in the next post, since there’s so much.

Anyway, as always, thank you to everyone so much for reading and stuff, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!

See ya ~Mar

“Witch & Wizard” by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet | Book Review

It’d been two and a half months since I last did a retrospective book review – not to mention that I’ve been in THE WORST reading slump – so I decided that it was more than time for another.

Retrospective Book Reviews (previously Reading Retrospectives), for those who don’t know, are basically book reviews, but they’re on books that I read before I started this blog. So, in order for them to get their day in the sun, I go back through them and see if my opinion when I originally read them holds up.

This week, I’m re-reviewing a book I read a couple of years ago. It’s Witch & Wizard, the first book in the aforementioned YA series, written by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet.

Witch & Wizard by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet

SERIES: Witch & Wizard (Book #1)

LENGTH: 314 pages

GENRES: Dystopian, Fantasy, YA, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Jimmy Patterson

RELEASE DATE: 14 December 2009

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

The world is changing: the government has seized control of every aspect of society, and now, kids are disappearing. For 15-year-old Wisty and her older brother Whit, life turns upside down when they are torn from their parents one night and slammed into a secret prison for no reason they can comprehend. The New Order, as it is known, is clearly trying to suppress Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Being a Normal Teenager.

But while trapped in this totalitarian nightmare, Wisty and Whit discover they have incredible powers they’d never dreamed of. Can this newly minted witch and wizard master their skills in time to save themselves, their parents–and maybe the world?

My Review

So, I’ve been in the worst reading funk that I’ve been in for a long time. For whatever reason, summers are rough for me, and I almost always end up with a reading block for some duration of the season.

So I thought, what better way to get the brain wanting to read then skimming over a book I didn’t really care for when I read it, and re-reviewing it for the blog?

No better way, I decided. So here we are. Onwards, to the rant!

The Rant

Witch & Wizard is an aggressively mediocre book, that was the brainchild of a collab better James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet. Yes, the same guy who wrote those godawful Maximum Ride books, and just pumps out like twenty books a year on average. (His poor ghostwriters…) And yes, if you couldn’t tell by the title, this is going to be a roast.

So let’s get straight to the point: this book sucks. Like, when I first attempted to read it as a young teen, I think I only got two thirds of the way through. Then, when I finally got through the thing years later as an adult, I didn’t like it. Yes, I admit, I gave it three and a half stars. But I also gave The Savior’s Champion three and a half stars, and Blood & Honey two and a half stars. I read all three of these books when I’d just started out reviewing books online, and I was afraid to be critical.

But those days are over. Now, I’m gonna say what I actually think and feel about these books.

Let’s get started with the thing that has always annoyed me with this book: the villain and the villain’s name. He appears at the beginning of the book in a flashforward, and then appears very little throughout the book. I never found him very threatening, even when I first read it. Also, he’s only referred to as The One Who Is The One. Very annoying to read, as well as extremely uninspired.

The dystopian world and the magic system also don’t make any sense. There’s no buildup and there’s no background on like anything. And there was just far too much action and far too little character introspection. Whenever I get to the end, I still never feel like I know who our main characters – Whit and Wisty Allgood – are. (Plus, their POVs read exactly the same. They’re really not that distinguished from one another.)

The most grating thing about Witch & Wizard, however, is most definitely the invented slang. It just doesn’t feel like… actual slang. I’m sorry, but as someone who was definitely a teenager when they first read it, I can definitely say then and now that no teenager or kid will ever use Erlenmeyer as a slang term. NEVER. It’s waaayy too long, and not at all catchy. And the rest of the invented slang is also pretty clunky and unnatural.

Honestly, I found this book at least as messy as the Maximum Ride series. It really felt like a disaster to read. (And to read again.)

By this rant, you’re probably wondering why I gave this such a generous one and three-quarters stars. Well, that’s cuz I know that there are far worse books – heck, I’ve read some far worse books. So that’s why.

You’re also probably wondering why I haven’t added any quotes to this review, like I usually do. It’s because this book is straight up cringe with its writing. This is actually something I didn’t really notice as a young teen, and is definitely something that my adult eyes identified. So kids and younger teenagers probably won’t find the (nonexistent) prose and (bad) dialogue to be cringey.

But since you’re clearly curious, here’s a couple lines, just for you:

You know things have gone bad when military marches pass for pop music.

and the absolute cringiest part of the novel

I kept on talking without really thinking, until it turned into a chant:

They’re afraid of change, and we must change.
They’re afraid of the young, and we are the young.
They’re afraid of music, and music is our life.
They’re afraid of books, and knowledge, and ideas.
They’re most afraid of our magic.

Closing Thoughts

So yeah, this book is bad. But I’ve somehow read and heard about worse, so this one got a slight pass. A slight. I still find it terrible, even though I know it could’ve been worse.

There’s a good chance that a younger teenager or preteen will like this, but I just can’t bring myself to recommend it. If you’re an adult, read anything else. If you’re a kid, read Percy Jackson or something. There are far better books than this one.

As always, thank you so much for reading, and have an extraordinary day/night.

See ya ~Mar

MY LINKS:

Goodreads

Instagram

“A Court of Mist and Fury” by Sarah J. Maas: A Book of Love Triangles and Character Assassinations [Book Review]

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve done a retrospective book review, and since my next non-retrospective book review isn’t quite ready yet, I thought it was high time I posted another.

Retrospective book reviews are basically book reviews, but they’re on books that I read before I started this blog. So, in order for them to get their day in the sun, I go back through them and see if my opinion when I originally read them holds up. So yeah, that’s basically it.

This time I’m gonna go over another book in a very popular series that I’ve already gone over before. That’s right, I’m going over A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas, the sequel to A Court of Thorns and Roses.

“To the stars who listen—and the dreams that are answered.”

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

THEN: ★★★★★ • 5 / 5

NOW: ★★★★☆ • 4 / 5

“Tell me what you see.”
“A world divided in two.”

Feyre survived Amarantha’s clutches to return to the Spring Court – but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can’t forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin’s people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms-and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future-and the future of a world torn apart.

My review for A Court of Thorns and Roses

I have a complicated relationship with the books (that I’ve read) in this series. With ACOTAR, it was that the book started off pretty slow and ended up being just a generic YA fantasy novel. With A Court of Mist and Fury my feelings are a bit more complex than that.

A Court of Mist and Fury is an NA (formerly YA) high fantasy romance novel written by Sarah J. Maas. It is the sequel to A Court of Thorns and Roses and is therefore the second book in the eponymous series. ACOMAF was also originally published on May 3, 2016 by Bloomsbury.

Stuff I Liked

The Court of Dreams.

The people who knew that there was a price, and one worth paying, for that dream. The bastard- born warriors, the Illyrian half breed, the monster trapped in a beautiful body, the dreamer born into a court of nightmares

…And the huntress with an artist’s soul.

Though this book had a similar problem to its predecessor – that being, it started off slow – it didn’t feel nearly as bad to me; likely because it wasn’t slow for as long. And once ACOMAF got going, it got going.

Also, even though Maas doesn’t focus as much on her world building as I’d like (she chooses instead to focus on… other things), I did like the bits of world building that she did decide to show. I also enjoyed some of the strange creatures and monsters she added and opted to give page time to.

I also quite liked many of the characters introduced in this book. Mor was a great friend for Feyre, and I liked Cassian and Azriel. I really liked seeing Feyre’s sisters – Nesta and Elain – again, as I didn’t expect it at all. (Cassian and Nesta’s sexual tension was also amazing.) Amren was the MVP character-wise though. She was so cool.

The new places that the characters travelled too were also really cool. I loved seeing more of the Faerie Courts of Prythian, and I can’t wait to see more.

There you are. I’ve been looking for you.

His first words to me— not a lie at all, not a threat to keep those faeries away.

Thank you for finding her for me.

I’m more on the fence now on the romance than I was when I first read ACOMAF, soon after it was originally released in 2016. I’ve decided to put it in the Stuff I Liked section, however, because when I first read it I absolutely adored it. Rhysand and Feyre had so much more chemistry together than Tamlin and Feyre ever did, and I really liked Rhys and Feyre as a couple at the time.

The climax and the ending were also heart pounding. When I finished this book, I was immediately chomping at the bit for the next book. It was sooo good, and I needed to know what happened next!

But that’s pretty much all that I liked about it, even if this stuff made me rate the book very highly when I first read it (and why I can’t bring myself to rate it that much lower now).

Stuff I Didn’t Like

When you spend so long trapped in darkness, you find that the darkness begins to stare back.

I absolutely despised what Maas did to Tamlin’s character. Now don’t get me wrong – I didn’t particularly like Tamlin in ACOTAR. But I didn’t hate him either, and after his cardboard cutout personality in the first book, I was looking forward to seeing his personality develop in book two, as well as his and Feyre’s relationship.

But that never happened. Because Maas decided to assassinate Tamlin’s character.

Now this is something that I’ve always hated. Even way back when, when A Court of Wings and Ruin hadn’t even come out yet, and everyone was praising A Court of Mist and Fury for being a perfect book and how perfect Rhys and Feyre were for each other and just ~~fück~~ Tamlin. I hated this even then. Because I absolutely hate things like character assassinations – as it indicates bad writing. And I still stand by that.

I also didn’t really, really didn’t like the smut. But I just hate smut in general, so that’s probably just a me thing.

Final Thoughts

Truth is deadly. Truth is freedom. Truth can break and mend and bind.

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas was a fantastic read when it first came out, but its near perfection has definitely weathered some over the years.

I still like it to some degree, and recommend it to fans of fantasy-romance, but I don’t like it nearly as much as I did when I first read it. It’s not a bad book (though if you’re looking for it, you can see the cracks starting to show in the narrative in ACOMAF).

Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day/night!

See ya ~Mar

LINKS: Goodreads | Instagram

“The Savior’s Champion” by Jenna Moreci: Book Review

It’s been over a week since my last retrospective book review, so I deemed it time for another one. Today, I’m rereviewing The Savior’s Champion by Jenna Moreci.

(If you’re new, or you haven’t read any of my retrospective book reviews before, allow me a very quick explanation before moving into the actual review. You can probably surmise what it is on your own, but I’ll just say that I skim over a book I’ve read in the last few years prior to having a blog, and re-judge it to see if it was as great as I remember.)

The Savior’s Champion by Jenna Moreci

Series: The Savior’s Series (Book #1)

Length: 671 pages

Genres: Dark Fantasy, Romance, Fiction

Release Date: April 24, 2018

Book Description:

Tobias Kaya doesn’t care about The Savior. He doesn’t care that She’s the Ruler of the realm or that She purified the land, and he certainly doesn’t care that She’s of age to be married. But when competing for Her hand proves to be his last chance to save his family, he’s forced to make The Savior his priority.

Now Tobias is thrown into the Sovereign’s Tournament with nineteen other men, and each of them is fighting—and killing—for the chance to rule at The Savior’s side. Instantly his world is plagued with violence, treachery, and manipulation, revealing the hidden ugliness of his proud realm. And when his circumstances seem especially dire, he stumbles into an unexpected romance, one that opens him up to unimaginable dangers and darkness.

Trigger warning: this novel contains graphic violence, adult language, and sexual situations.

My Review

Then: ★★★★☆ • 4 / 5 stars

Now: ★★✯☆☆ • 2.5 / 5 stars

I’m sure you’ve noticed by now that there’s something a little different with this book review.

If you haven’t, it’s totally the lack of quotes from the novel. I’m telling you now, that there aren’t gonna be any quotes here, if you were looking for them. This is for a very simple reason: I didn’t find anything of this book to be particularly memorable. Like, line wise anyway – I remembered scenes from The Savior’s Champion well enough.

You might also be wondering: why, upon my reflection, there was a drop in stars. That is also something that I will answer here. But not quite yet. First, let’s go over the usual.

(Before doing so, I will acknowledge that my reading tastes may not be in this specific subgenre, so even though I found a lot I didn’t like about for me personally, someone else might really love it. I don’t know who to recommend it to, though.)

The Plot and Its Pacing

Let’s start with the storyline itself. The plot was pretty generic: protag has to save his family in some way, enters deadly tournament in order to get paid, falls in love with a girl. You know, the usual.

There’s nothing inherently wrong right that. Actually, the base plot is actually okay. The problem is, this book is far too long for what its pages contain, and thus is very slow-paced. Almost excruciatingly at times, even. It’s also super overwritten to fluff up the page count – it did not need to be over 600 pages long. (I think it would have been fine being around 400, but nevermind my opinion.)

But yeah, the plot itself is… fine. Most of the problems associated with it have to do with TSC’s pacing, and… other stuff.

The Characters (aka: The “Other Stuff”)

I’m going to be frank here: most of the characters in this novel kind of sucked. Like, they weren’t written very well. Many of them were under-characterized and has little to know motivation, and others didn’t have much of a personality and had motivations that shifted and didn’t make sense.

The main character, Tobias, is very dull. Nothing about him is interesting. Not to mention, he completely transforms into a complete different character around like halfway/two-thirds of the way through the novel. Like, wth?

And his family were complete non-characters. They merely existed as a motivation for Tobias for the first three chapters, and then ceased to exist in his mind for pretty much the rear of the book. And even when they do appear, as brief as it is, they are always “Number Two” in our protagonist’s mind, which they should not be, if he loves them as much as he claims.

“Number One” in Tobias’ mind – after he first encounters her at least – is Leila. Leila is our dueteragonist in this novel, and she’s just about as bland as our hero. She also has a “secret,” but it is something so completely and utterly obvious to the reader that I hesitate to name it as such. (And even then Tobias doesn’t figure it out until the very end of the book and he still has to be told it.)

All of the other characters – much like Tobias’ family – did not matter. Not really, at least. And there were far too many of them and they didn’t feel very distinct from one another. And the villain was just… so evil that it was nearly ridiculous.

The Prose

The prose wasn’t super good. There was either too much or too little description, and the dialogue never felt very natural. And the text is oversaturated with one word (~~cock~~), to the point that I actually wanted to fling the book across the room both times that I went through it!

Also, the chemistry between all of the different characters just really wasn’t there. And the romance between Tobias and Leila could have – and should have – been much stronger. I dunno, this book might have needed another edit or something – I’m no expert.

Why My Rating Changed So Drastically

Sooo… I discovered this book through the author’s YouTube channel. That’s right, Jenna Moreci is an authortuber, and she makes videos with writing advice. At the time I first read this book, its sequel The Savior’s Sister was releasing.

And, I’m just gonna be real. I liked Jenna and her videos, so I wanted to check out her books. And even though The Savior’s Champion was difficult for me to get through – it took me almost a month to finish it, which is extremely unusual for me – I was really self-conscious about my review. So I didn’t think too much about the book itself when I finished it, and just gave it 4 stars.

But looking back on it after attempting to read the sequel, as well as having since pretty much discontinued with watching Jenna’s videos, I can no longer ignore how I truly felt. So, I went through the book again (skimming at high speed) just to make sure my feelings were true, and then have it my true rating, without any of my bias blocking my vision.

So yeah, that’s why it went down to 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Final Thoughts

I didn’t really care for The Savior’s Champion too much, but someone else might like it, so as always, I encourage anyone still interested to give it a shot. Everyone has different taste buds when it comes to books, so everyone prefers something different on their pages.

Thank you to those of you who read this ~~rant~~ review, and have a great day/night!

See ya ~Mar

LINKS: Goodreads | Instagram

“Scarlet” by Marissa Meyer: Book Review

Good [insert your time of day here]! It’s been a few days since the last one, and because of time constraints due to some medical stuff on the horizon, I haven’t had time to finish my current -current read, so I’ve decided to do another retrospective book review. This one’s gonna be on Scarlet (you’ll never guess what I’m gearing up for…).

As I’ve mentioned before, a retrospective book review is when I review a past read of mine, after skimming through it again. Today, I’m gonna talk about Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. (I recently did a review on Cinder, which you can check out here.)

She did not know that the wolf was a wicked sort of animal, and she was not afraid of him.

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Series: The Lunar Chronicles (Book #2)

Length: 454 pages

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, YA, Fiction

Release Date: February 5, 2013

Book Description:

The #1 New York Times Bestselling Series

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison–even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

My Review

Then: ★★★★✯ • 4.5 / 5 stars

Now: ★★★★★ • 5 / 5 stars

“I lied to you about a lot of things….but I meant every apology.”

Out of all I’ve read in The Lunar Chronicles so far, Scarlet has to be my absolute favorite in the series. To me, it was like Cinder but better, which is a bit of a feat in itself, cuz I loved Cinder.

But yeah, there’s so much that I adore about this book. And because of that – and to save my sanity – I’m gonna divide up this review with some lovely headings.

The Characters

A relieved grin filled up Thorne’s face. “We’re having another moment, aren’t we?”

“If by a moment, you mean me not wanting to strangle you for the first time since we met, then I guess we are.”

The characters are definitely my favorite thing about this book. Scarlet is, at least to me personally, a much better protagonist (or co-protagonist) than Cinder is. She’s a couple years older than Cinder and she’s also got a little more life experience, and you can tell.

Carswell Thorne is also a very entertaining member of the supporting cast. He was introduced near the end of the first book, but you really get a feel for him and his personality in this novel. He’s the kind of character that I like to call a “stupid genius” – a character that appears stupid most of the time and frequently acts like an idiot, but also has some smarts hidden inside. (This character type is also sometimes naturally talented at a certain skill, as is the case here.)

Wolf is one of my favorite new characters introduced in Scarlet. He’s very mysterious initially (though I think most readers will get what’s up – Scarlet certainly did), but he opens up as the story progresses. His and Scarlet’s relationship is one of the defining pillars of the novel, and it’s also one of my favorite things about it.

The Story

This is another thing about Scarlet that I preferred over its predecessor. But it’s not that the plot of this book is better than Cinder’s.

Nope. I just like Little Red Riding Hood more than Cinderella is all.

But yeah, the futuristic, science-fantasy, retelling is an amazing spin on a classic fairytale.

The Setting

I’m going to sound like a broken record soon, but this is yet another thing I preferred over the first book. Because of Cinder’s state as a fugitive (spoiler), the book has finally moved out of future sci-fi China and expanded the setting.

Also, Scarlet lives in France, and spends a lot of time in a more rural area compared to the city slicking Cinder of the first novel. And I really liked that. It made the world feel both large and lived in, and it also further accentuated the differences between Scarlet and Cinder.

The Romance

“We met less than a week ago and in that time I’ve done nothing but lie and cheat and betray you. I know. But if you give me a chance…all I want is to protect you. To be near you. For as long as I’m able.”

Now, if you’ve read some of my other posts, you’d know that I’m pretty anti-insta-love. And that’s because most insta-love stories are written like ~~shit~~.

But this one isn’t. This is (a very rare case of) insta-love being done properly.

Wolf and Scarlet have an awesome dynamic. Despite Wolf being both physically bigger and stronger than her, their relationship never feels unbalanced in any way. And despite how he initially appears, Wolf really isn’t a bad boy. He’s kind and protective, and he just wants to love and support his girl.

And Scarlet cares for him in a very similar way. They just work together so well: they’re kind of a perfect team.

(The Very Few) Things That I Didn’t Like

There’s really only like one or two things that I didn’t care for, honestly. First: the POVs are numerous. Not as many as I’ve seen in other books (looking at you ASOIAF), but still climbing. And yeah, I get that it’s necessary for the story progression, but I would’ve liked more focus on Scarlet. The book really makes it feel like she’s less of a protagonist, and more of a girl who’s just gonna join and support Cinder eventually.

The other thing I didn’t care for: the insta-love. I know, I know, I just said that I actually enjoyed it for once here and just sang Wolf and Scarlet’s relationship praises. But, I dunno… I guess I just have a natural aversion to the trope, even if it’s done fantastically. I just prefer a good slow-burn is all.

Final Thoughts

Unfortunately, I really don’t have much more to say except go read this book/series right now! It’s truly an amazing set of books (so far), and I’ve pretty much only heard good things about the ones I haven’t read yet, too.

Also, Scarlet’s tenth anniversary is coming up later next week, so if you’ve already read it, why not reread it to celebrate? And if you haven’t, well I say that a tenth anniversary is as good a reason as any to read it!

As always, thank you for reading, and have an excellent day/night! Join me next time for more bookish things!

~ Mar ~

Cinderella, But She’s a Cyborg | “Cinder” by Marissa Meyer [Retrospective Book Review]

Even in the Future the Story Begins with Once Upon a Time.

Title & Author: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Series: The Lunar Chronicles (Book #1)

Length: 448 pages

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, YA, Fiction

Release Date: January 3, 2012

Description:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl….

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

My Review

Then: ★★★★✯ • 4.5 / 5 stars

Now: ★★★★☆ • 4 / 5 stars

She was a cyborg, and she would never go to a ball.

I love this book so much. I first read it like… around five-ish years ago, I guess? Cinder was originally a 4.5 star rating, but then I read its sequel, Scarlet, which I liked even more, so I bumped it down half a star after I read that one. But it was 4.5 / 5 for a time.

(Glancing over it again, I still think it’s a 4 star book today, by the way. But it did change at one point, so that’s why the star ratings are different.)

Anyway, the book’s main character is Linh Cinder, a futuristic version of Cinderella, but with an actual personality and also happens to be a cyborg. I liked how smart and good with mechanical stuff, which was nice to see in a female character, and I really like how it tied her being a cyborg.

Prince Kai is TLC’s version of Prince Charming (he doesn’t have a name in the original version, to my knowledge). And he also has a personality. This is also a much less insta-lovey version of the original fairytale, which was also nice. I really liked how active he was in the plot, and how he had his own POV chapters.

It’s not just a sci-fi retelling of the classic story though. There’s definitely been a few other kinds of alterations here. Like Cinder’s stepsisters Pearl and Peony. Pearl is a pretty standard interpretation – she’s kind of a ~~bitch~~. But Peony isn’t, and she and Cinder are actually quite close. I adored how sweet their relationship was. Cinder’s stepmother, Adri, is also closer to her original character, but she also has her reasons, even though she’s still a ~~bitch~~.

My favorite alternation – and character, incidentally – was Iko, Cinder’s android BFF. She’s the definition of “being extra” before being extra was a thing. She’s sassy and funny. And let’s not forget horny. Very horny.

Cinder twisted up her lips. “Do you think it could have a virus?”

“Maybe her programming was overwhelmed by Prince Kai’s uncanny hotness.”

This quote here encapsulates the humor vibe for this book pretty well. (And this series, now that I’m thinking about it.) But there are series parts to the plot as well.

Dr. Erland is another character that I rather like. I liked his dynamic with Cinder, and how she kept sassing him. Erland is also a gray character, at least for most of the book, and you didn’t really know whose side he was on until the very end.

My favorite part of Cinder, though, definitely had to be all of the little bits of foreshadowing littered throughout the book for its sequels. An important character from later in the series has a cameo here, and another character here was introduced, whose name is a clue to their future role. And all kinds of other stuff.

Before I move on to my criticisms, I also wanna mention how good the writing is. Not only is the dialogue absolutely fantastic, but the prose and descriptions are also really great. I love the way that Marissa Meyer writes.

Vanity is a factor, but it is more a question of control. It is easier to trick others into perceiving you as beautiful if you can convince yourself you are beautiful. But mirrors have an uncanny way of telling the truth.

I didn’t really have any gripes with this novel, except for a thing or two. The first is that I wasn’t super into Cinder (the character). I didn’t hate her or anything – not even close! – she just seemed kind of like a generic sort of protagonist. I preferred Scarlet (the character), introduced in book two, as a protagonist.

The other thing is a bit spoilery, so if you don’t want to be spoiled skip this paragraph. *SPOILERS* ~~I didn’t like how Peony was fridged. Though it wasn’t as soon as some fridgings I’ve~~ ~~read, I wish she had more time on the pages.~~ *SPOILERS END*

So yeah, I definitely recommend Cinder to anyone and everyone, especially those who love the original fairytale. I love how the whole series flows together, and how it appears like the entire thing was mostly plotted out before all of the books were out. But yeah, read this book.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day/night!

Reading Retrospective: Red Winter

Let’s see… It’s been, I don’t know, about exactly a month right down to the day since I last did one of these. So I’d say that it’s been more than overdue for me to post another one.

Since it’s been such a looonng time since the last one – or if you’re new – Reading Retrospectives are posts where I go over a book I read in the past, of which there are many (ei: before I started posting stuff on this blog), and determine whether it still deserves the star rating that I originally gave it. So I basically just give it a proper review.

This time, I’m reinspecting a book I read around three years ago. It’s Red Winter by Annette Marie.

Red Winter by Annette Marie

Series: Red Winter Trilogy (Book #1)

Length: 348 pages

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, YA, Fiction

Release Date: October 21, 2016

Book Description

Emi has spent her entire life hiding from the creatures that hunt her. The savage earth spirits are determined to kill her before she can become the living host of a goddess, so she stays hidden–until the day she saves the life of one of her hunters.

Shiro isn’t the harmless fox spirit she thought he was. He’s mysterious, cunning, unpredictable … and now hers to command. He’s sworn to pay his debt to her, but he doesn’t know who she is. If he finds out, he’ll kill her.

But she can’t send him away–not yet. Her future isn’t what she thought. The lies surrounding her fate have begun to unravel, and she needs answers before time runs out–answers that lie in the spirit realm. Shiro can take her there… if she dares to trust him.

And only then will she find out how deep the gods’ treachery runs.

My Review

Then: ★★★★☆ • 4 / 5 stars

Now: ★★★★☆ • 4 / 5 stars

Actions change our course, influence our futures, but intentions define us, empower us. Without intent, we are nothing.

So, like… This book still holds up for me. I still really like it. I’ve seen it compared to shoujo manga and anime, and, speaking as someone who has watched some of the latter, I absolutely agree. So I’m just gonna say straight up, that if you enjoy shoujo, you’ll like this book.

My favorite part about the book is how much the author cared about her book. It’s very clear just by reading this, that Marie put in a considerable amount of research and effort into making this as authentic, and true to the cultural source, as possible. And it really shows. It really does feel like I’m watching a shoujo anime (anime geared towards teenage girls), only no I’m not, I’m just reading a really well written novel. With a few really pretty illustrations.

But yeah, the setting is solid. It really feels like I’m reading a book set in Japan. I also adore the Japanese folklore here. I feel like I really don’t see enough books about it, outside of anime and such.

Not that that was the only thing that I really liked about Red Winter. The characters were pretty alright too.

“Actions change our course, influence our futures, but intentions define us, empower us. Without intent, we are nothing.”

I really liked Emi. She’s “not like other girls” in the best way – by which I mean she doesn’t have the stereotypical, overly sassy, good at most everything characterization problem that most YA female protagonists do. And I loved that about her. Emi has a traumatic backstory, like many leading characters, and most of her development over this novel is her learning to deal with, and begin to move past, said trauma. And she doesn’t put up a badass, sassy front to hide this part of herself from the world. She’s timid and vulnerable, and because of this, you can really start to see her evolve and shine that much more brightly. She’s definitely one of my more liked female protagonists in recent years.

Shiro was also decently interesting, despite being the more stereotypical of the two. Marie might have given Emi a variation on the “chosen one” cliche, but Shiro was the one to really inherit a lot of the more common tropes. Not that that’s a bad thing – I really like Shiro! I just wanted to acknowledge that he’s tied to a few literary (and anime) stereotypes. But yeah, Shiro is a kitsune (a Japanese fox spirit), so it’s really no surprise how likeable he is. Most people just love foxes.

She stopped, a half-dozen paces still separating them. The frantic thudding of her heart filled her ears as she met his vacant crimson stare. “Don’t forget me, Shiro,” she said hoarsely. “You’re not allowed to forget me.”

He blinked slowly and something shifted in his gaze. His lips curved in his familiar crooked smile. “You’ll forget me someday, little miko.” His voice was even hoarser than hers, rough and coated in a hint of an animal growl.

“I’ll never forget you,” she told him. “I’ll remember you to my last day.”

“Do you promise?”

Her heart gave an odd little flutter. “Yes, I promise.

The romance is also done just right between the two of them. It’s slow-burn, the (for the most part) best way to write a romance, which is your biggest giveaway that it’s well-written. (Hey, when the other option is insta-love, I will always choose a slow-burn any day!)

And, to top it off, Red Winter isn’t just a standalone novel. It’s the first part of a trilogy! So there’s even more to enjoy if you just couldn’t get enough of this one. (And yeah, haven’t read the rest of it yet, on account of life happening. In a good way, but it still happened.)

So yes, in short, I really like this book. The only downside is that, due to some pretty extensive world building at the start, it takes a bit for the plot to get going. Despite that, I still highly recommend it. If you like any of the novel’s genres, or folklore, or Japanese shoujo media, definitely give this book a shot!

Retrospective Review: Among the Beasts and Briars

Briars, brambles, bones, and blossom, I smell a girl who can’t be forgotten.

It’s been weeks since I last ruminated on a book from my past. So, I thought that it was beyond high time for me to another reading retrospective. This time, I’m retroactively reviewing Among the Beasts and Briars by Ashley Poston.

Among the Beasts and Briars by Ashley Poston

Length: 352 pages

Genre: Fantasy, Fairytale, Romance

Release Date: October 20, 2020

Book Description

Cerys is safe in the Kingdom of Aloriya. Here there are no droughts, disease, or famine, and peace is everlasting. It has been this way for hundreds of years, since the first king made a bargain with the Lady who ruled the forest that borders the kingdom. But as Aloriya prospered, the woods grew dark, cursed, and forbidden.

Cerys knows this all too well: When she was young, she barely escaped as the woods killed her friends and her mother. Now Cerys carries a small bit of the curse—the magic—in her blood, a reminder of the day she lost everything.

As a new queen is crowned, however, things long hidden in the woods descend on the kingdom itself. Cerys is forced on the run, her only companions a small and irritating fox from the royal garden and the magic in her veins. It’s up to her to find the legendary Lady of the Wilds and beg for a way to save her home.

But the road is darker and more dangerous than she knows, and as secrets from the past are uncovered amid the teeth and roots of the forest, it’s going to take everything she has just to survive.

My Review

Then: ★★★★★ • 5 / 5 stars

Now: ★★★★★ • 5 / 5 stars

I always thought that gardeners’ daughters couldn’t thrive where our roots didn’t grow. But maybe we were like dandelion tuffs.

I love, love, loved this book when I first read it twice years ago, and I still love, love, love it now. It was a wonderful fall fairytale, and I regret completely that I never made a fall vibes book recommendation list like I did for Halloween and winter, so that I could recommend it. (Maybe something for next year? Hmm…)

The vibes and prose in this book are – as I said before – absolutely perfect for autumn. Personally, I recommend the days leading up to Thanksgiving, if you have the time. It just feels the most like fall during that time to me, and since this book embodies the season so well… you get it.

Anyway, like I said, the prose and writing in this book was fantastic. I love the way that Poston describes things. It presents such a wonderful visual.

The leaves on the trees we approached were a molten gold, like an artist had taken a sunset and poured it over the forest, and the crisp smell of the coming winter floated on the autumn breeze. It was early afternoon, and the birds sang bright and loud in the treetops.

See? An absolutely beautiful description. And just one of many, I might add.

The story and characters were also great. I loved Cerys. I loved how she wasn’t a so-called “strong female protagonist” and that, even though she had a strange power via a curse, she never felt “special.” She just felt like a nice girl trying her best to fulfill her mission. Fox was a fantastic personality for Cerys to interact with, and I loved his POV sections just as much as Cerys’, if not more. He just had the right amount of sass to be both hilarious and compelling.

The plot was also fantastic. It wasn’t super complex, but I loved the fairytale inspired aspect of it, as well as how it never slowed down or dragged at any point. I also loved how the forest was essentially a character in its own right – the lush descriptions really made it feel like one too.

She said that the people who die never really leave. That we carry them with every breath we take, until the wind itself is gone.

Anyway, yeah, this book was still just as good as the first time, and I completely recommend it. Definitely check it out if you haven’t read it – it’s a wonderful fairytale-like story. Pair it with some fall scents, a warm blanket, and some hot chocolate, and everything will be more than perfect when you read it. Thanks, as always, for reading, and join me next time for more bookish things.