Here it is! Part 2 of my reading wrap-up for the books I read during 2025. 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 20 books, which were 6,379 pages all together. A decent amount of books. Not as many as I read in 2024 or 2023 as I mentioned in Part #1, but it’s still not bad. I’m hoping I’ll get back in the game this year, though, and that my reading in 2026 will be much better than it was last year.
2025 Reading Wrap-Up
The Books I Read in 2025
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 fine, and I did okay with my novel reading as well as posting on this blog. I think. I could’ve done better, though. Hopefully this year things will be different.
But yeah, as always, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have a great day/night!
Ugh, last week was kinda rough. Not to mention what I said last week – ‘It’s not like I’m posting this [Weekly Wrap-Up] on Wednesday.’ Famous last words, lol.
My time management was just out the window last week, which is why the blog activity is kind of sparse. I was also struggling a lot getting into the headspace to start a new book, especially because it’s been a while since I’ve read a novel (I managed to get through a novella, though). So yeah, I’m gonna preemptively mention that my reading in June was not the best.
Anyway, without further ado, let’s get on with the weekly wrap-up!
Wednesday 6/25: Can’t-Wait Wednesday
Last Wednesday, I did another Can’t-Wait Wednesday for the first time again. Two weeks in a row!
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings. It focuses on books you’re looking forward to reading, usually new releases.
On Sunday, I decided to do another Retrospective Book Review for the first time in about six months – the last time was Winterspell. It was once again a book I really enjoyed, but one that I – of course – read before I started this blog, otherwise there’d have been a review of it already, lol.
The book was The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff, a dark fantasy YA novel with horror elements. I really enjoyed it when I first read it, and going back through it years later, I still liked it just as much. I originally gave it ★★★★✯, and I’m still keeping to that rating today.
So yeah, last week kind of sucked regarding blog posting. As did my reading. I’m really hoping that this week will be better, even though I’ve already gotten a late start. We’ll see – fingers crossed!
For the posts I want to do this week… Well, it’s a tad late, but I’m definitely gonna do my Most Interesting Looking New Books of July 2025. Of course I also want to do another couple posts aside from this one, and I want one of them to be a book review. The other… I dunno. We’ll see what I end up posting this week together, after it’s over.
As for books and reading… I dunno. Well, technically I have an idea, ’cause I know what’s on my To Be Read stuff, but I’m not quite sure I know what I’m going to read next out of the TBR. Or I might spontaneously decide to read a new book that came out in June. I’m honestly not sure what I’m gonna pick right now.
In regards to stuff I did outside of blogging and books last week, last week was my big house cleaning week of the month. It was a week later than usual, because time didn’t really work out for it the week before, as well as on a different day of the week than it usually is, which might have messed up my time management for other things. But it needed to be done, so I’m not as irritated about it as I could’ve been, even though I’m a little annoyed.
Anyway, as always thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!
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!
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!
Darkly romantic and entirely enchanting, this reimagining of The Nutcracker from Claire Legrand brims with magic, love, and intrigue. New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer (Cinder) says “this is not your grandmother’s Nutcracker tale.”
After her mother is brutally murdered, seventeen-year-old Clara Stole is determined to find out what happened to her. Her father, a powerful man with little integrity, is a notorious New York City gang lord in the syndicate-turned-empire called Concordia. And he isn’t much help.
But there is something even darker than Concordia’s corruption brewing under the surface of the city, something full of vengeance and magic, like the stories Clara’s godfather used to tell her when she was a little girl. Then her father is abducted and her little sister’s life is threatened, and Clara accidentally frees Nicholas from a statue that has been his prison for years. Nicholas is the rightful prince of Cane, a wintry kingdom that exists beyond the city Clara has known her whole life.
When Nicholas and Clara journey together to Cane to retrieve her father, Clara encounters Anise, the queen of the faeries, who has ousted the royal family in favor of her own totalitarian, anti-human regime. Clara finds that this new world is not as foreign as she feared, but time is running out for her family, and there is only so much magic can do…
My Review
So many stories yet to be told, so many secrets to be unearthed. It would happen soon; Clara would make sure of it, and if Nicholas tried to evade her, well, she still had her daggers.
It’s been quite a while since I last looked at a book retrospectively. But there are still a few books I’d like to look at retrospectively, and this time of year is absolutely perfect for talking about Winterspell by Claire Legrand.
I’ve loved this book ever since I read it years ago. I’m a total sucker for retellings, fairytale or otherwise, and this novel is a retelling of The Nutcracker 🎄🥜, which is something I also adore. So this book was a match made in heaven for me.
Winterspell primarily follows Clara Stole ✨ after her family is attacked by and she is forced to flee to Cane, a strange, wintery, and magical land. Clara starts off a little unsure and nervous – but fiercely protective of her family – and she has a lot of growth throughout the novel, and ends it as a strong young woman ready to face anything. She is Winterspell’s Clara/Marie.
Nicholas 🌰 is an interesting take on the Nutcracker (the character). He’s a little gray, compared to the more helpful and trustworthy and wholesome character in the original, but he still retains many of these same qualities. He’s just a little more complex. I actually enjoyed him for the most part, and I loved the twist of him being a secondary POV character.
Anise ❄️ was the villain, and the leader of the faeries. Though she irritated me a lot of the time, I still understood her motivations, and I thought she was a fine antagonist. She’s also my favorite interpretation of the Sugar Plum Fairy as a villain yet (and I think she was one of, if not the first version of this take – I’m probably wrong though, haha).
“You’re powerful, Clara. Or you could be, if you would let go of your fear long enough to realize it.”
Regarding the plot… of course I loved it. It’s basically The Nutcracker, but with enough unique changes to help it stand on its own (in my eyes). It’s kind of like a slightly edgier, YA version of the story, in a way. I liked all the changes Legrand made to the story, and I appreciated the stuff that she mostly kept close to the original. The world was also fantastic, and I enjoyed the conflicts between the three fractions of Cane: the humans, the mages and the faeries.
I enjoyed the writing, too. The dialogue felt pretty natural, the descriptions and such weren’t too overly detailed, and the POV choices were 🧑🍳💋. I loved how the book was primarily in third person following Clara, but was intermittently broken up by the first person perspective of Nicholas giving context to the events leading up to the main plot. It was wonderfully woven together.
I think the only thing I’ve ever really felt was noticeably weak (to me personally), was the romance. It just wasn’t something that I found I could really buy into, for some reason. I enjoyed Clara and Nicholas okay – they are the iconic pair of Clara/Marie and the Nutcracker, after all – and I’m happy for them. But to me, that little tryst in the middle of the book between Clara and Anise really felt like it came out of nowhere. And then the romance between them disperses just as quickly.
His eyes shone with an anguish Clara understood well. Loss, horrible loss. Pain and anger, and the world being pulled out from beneath one’s feet.
I wish there had been a bit more time to develop Clara and Anise’s relationship, as I felt it was quite interesting. Oh well. Also, the romances between these three characters (Clara and Nicholas, and Clara and Anise) also felt unequal for the first three fifths of the novel. But as Clara grows as a character… yeah, so eventually sets everyone straight, haha. I will say I was happy with the ending.
Looking back – and going through the book again for the nth time – I don’t think I’d change my rating at all. For me, Winterspell still holds up. When I first read it, I immediately went back and read my favorite scenes. Then, later that same year (like a month later around Christmas time), I basically reread the whole thing again. I’ve never gotten tired of this retelling. I find myself reading pieces of it every few years, at the very least.
This was a solid foray into the YA sphere by Legrand, and as I enjoyed this one so much I really should check out her other stuff. I will – eventually, lol. Though it did definitely have its weaker aspects (like the romance).
I definitely recommend Winterspell to YA fantasy fans, as well as fans of The Nutcracker and other Christmas set and Christmas themed stories. Not to mention, it’s absolutely perfect reading for this time of year.
She had forgotten how to care about the city that had taken so much from her. Forgetting was the only way she had found to keep moving every day.
As always, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have an amazing day/night!
Hey everyone! Happy Tuesday! How’s your September going so far?
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. This week’s topic is Posts I’ve Written That Give You a Glimpse of Me. For this one, share the blog posts (or social media stuff) that showcase your personality the most and offer the clearest window into your personality. These are the posts you wish everyone would read! I wasn’t feeling this prompt a few weeks ago, when it was originally for, but I’m feeling it now.
I could only think of eight posts this time, unfortunately. Which kind of sucks, ’cause this is the first time I’ve had trouble thinking of ten things for this list. (This might be why I originally passed on this prompt a few weeks ago, haha.)
One of my first ever posts. I really like the books I ended up picking for this one, though I think that when I did this post again in 2023, it was better written.
I really like doing monthly reading wrap-ups. From the beginning on this blog, I’ve discussed and analyzed my StoryGraph statistics every month on the Blog That Nobody Knows, and I’ve enjoyed it. I’m proud of how most of these turned out.
My review for Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garner is where I felt like I was starting to hit my stride to some degree, regarding how I wrote my book reviews. The way I write and structure my reviews is very different than it was almost two years ago now, and is ever evolving, but this was the first book review I wrote wherein I felt genuine satisfaction with the way it turned out.
I haven’t done a retrospective review in a while, but I’ve enjoyed making them nonetheless. I feel like my personality shines with some of these posts, because I love to talk about books I’ve read in the past, not just ones I’ve read more recently during my time with this blog. And going over a book again to see how it holds up with my present eyes is something I sometimes like to do.
I like to do these lists because it encouraged me to look into new books coming out. But I’m also too lazy to do this every month, so instead I do it seasonally. And thus, I get kind of unique lists sometimes. Plus, these are all pretty much strictly science fiction and fantasy only, ’cause that’s what I like to read.
This is a post I hold dear to my heart. The Legend of Zelda series is something that is very special to me, and is something that has impacted so many parts of my life. I did this post in celebration of the latest series installment – Tears of the Kingdom – releasing in May 2023. It’s one of my favorite posts that I’ve ever done.
I haven’t done a lot of them, but I’ve enjoyed every Book Tag I’ve taken part in. In each of the ones I’ve done, I put a lot of effort into the visuals and images (including doing and redoing the thumbnail/featured image multiple times). And I’m very proud of how it all turned out. I feel like the Taylor Swift book tags in particular give insight into me, because they show the kind of music I enjoy (to some degree), and they showcase a lot of the different novels that I’ve read or want to read in the future.
This post was the first series post that I ever created. And, even though I haven’t been very consistent with it lately, I like to talk about, admire and analyze book cover art which is why I originally decided to start doing it. I still enjoy doing it and know I’ll eventually come back to it. Hopefully soon and more consistently. It’s gone through a few title changes since I first started it, which might not be a good thing, lol.
Ugh, so last week I wasn’t as productive as I’d hoped. I’ve just been having the absolute worst reading slump for the last couple of weeks.
Honestly – and I feel a bit bad for saying this – I think Witch King triggered it. No it wasn’t a bad book, but it wasn’t really good (in my opinion) either. It was just… there. And “there” types of books are always the ones that kind of nudge me towards reading slumps, unfortunately.
This week, though, I’m definitely aiming to do better! But before I get into that, let’s wrap up last week first!
Wednesday 6/21: WWW Wednesday
Last Wednesday, I had planned on double posting, but I ended up not having time. So I just participated in WWW Wednesday. WWW Wednesday is a weekly feature currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words.
On Thursday, I did another Popular Books That I’ve Read Never post. It’d been about a month since I posted one, so I decided it was more than time for another.
Popular Books That I’ve Read Never is pretty much what it says on the tin: I highlight popular books that I’ve never read, and so far, don’t have any plans to read.
Yesterday, I did another Retrospective Book Review. 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.
The book I did this time was Witch & Wizard by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet. Yesterday, I’d finished skimming through it and was ready to post my review. I gave it ★✫☆☆☆.
So yeah, I wasn’t nearly as proactive as I’d wanted to be last week, but sometimes that’s just how the cookie crumbles. But this week, as I mentioned at the top, I’m definitely aiming to be better.
All I’m planning for this week, is to do at least five posts, and to finish at least one book. I really don’t know why, but for whatever reason I feel like if I put specific goals here, I’m bound to screw up again. 🤷
Fingers crossed I meet my nonspecific goals! 🤞
And as always, thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day/night!
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.
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 Championthree 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.
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!
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’veread, 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!
